Those Who Wander Through Life
by KitsuneFire01
Summary: When approached by Hide to analyse Kaneki after the incident, university student and ghoul researcher Morie Masuda delved deeper into the world of ghouls. Faced with the consequences of aiding Anteiku along with maintaining connections with the CCG, Morie's life is thrown into conflict as she drifts through the ever changing world.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note: Hello everyone! Thank you for giving this story a read. I really appreciate it.**

**Before we begin, I would like to highlight a few notes.**

**I do not own any Tokyo Ghoul character or the story. They belong to Sui Ishida and Studio Pierrot *cough cough* the business which butchered the anime *cough cough***

**This story will follow events that happen in the manga as well as some of the events that happen in the light novels Tokyo Ghoul: Days and Tokyo Ghoul: Void. This being said, the main focus of this fan fiction is on the main story line of Tokyo Ghoul and the exploration of my OC Morie's psyche and evolving character.**

**All artwork you may see linked in the chapters including the cover artwork was created by me. Please do not use any of it without asking me first.**

**Updates may be inconsistent but I will try to get at least one chapter out per month if not more.**

**There may be some strange descriptions detailing things in Japan. If you don't know what they are, I will have an author's note at the end of the chapter so if you are interested in knowing about them you can. Furthermore, I will be including references to novels and items with symbolic means. These will also be discussed at the appropriate time at the end of the chapter.**

**Lastly, if you like the story, see any errors or have any questions, please leave a review or notify me and I will happily get back to you.**

Morie was spinning around in her desk chair gazing up at the dim ceiling listening to the rain pelting down and the rushing wind. Like the scurrying white mouse in her lap, her nose twitched taking in the scents around her. Although the rodent was doing the same, its mind was busy contemplating possible chair escape routes but once it got to the edge of the seat, it ran back too afraid to make the leap onto still ground.

Caught up in her own thoughts she sighed and raised her hands to her nose. Her face glowered. She hated rain. It was always a distraction and a reminder that she, unlike those she was around, was different. The scent of it always reached her before the clouds darkened and the thematic use of it in media fitted her experiences so well that depression seemed to follow it. Earlier that day, she received an email from the CCG rejecting yet another one of her requests to provide more RC cells and suppressants to study. Flashes of that hospital day passed through her mind when it rained as well. It fabricated the air with a sweet scent and the sound of muffled sobbing.

But she smiled through the lie. Her pet was a result of that. The constant squeaking for food and cage breakouts made her question her experimental actions but morbid curiosity for discovery compelled her. Practicing on frogs and rats when the opportunity presented itself and studying in the confines of a cramped room day and night led her to where she was today, a biology student of Kamii University.

A strong tap resonated throughout the flat. It jarred Morie out of her thoughts and she put her foot on the floor to slow the spinning. The mouse in her lap let out a squeak of relief before Morie extended her hand to pick the thing up. Its celebration was cut short when it glared at her hand. Its nose twitched vigorously as it raised its tail high like a dagger aimed at her palm. An almost liquid, red substance extended from its back, bubbled its way towards its tail and hardened around it. The mouse struck, impaling Morie's hand. Blood seeped out and dripped down the weapon. The air smelt even sweeter to her. Morie hissed in pain, grabbed the tail with her other hand and pulled it out. With its fur still on edge, the mouse seized another opportunity to attack. It bared its incisors, ran up to the wounded hand and tore a chunk of flesh from it. "Again. You son of a b-" Morie gasped as she let go of the tail. It deconstructed and returned to normal. The mouse, dyed crimson took the meat in its mouth, jumped onto the wooden floor and casually scampered into one of its many tunnels that were scattered around the apartment.

Another knock resounded accompanied by an older teen's voice. "Are you okay in there? If not, I'm coming in."

"Oh, I'm just peachy!" She could feel the sarcasm that dripped from her mouth. "Just wait out there for a bit. I need to sort something out."

Her gaze fell, analysing her hand, her clothes, her chair and her flooring all pooling with blood. She knew she wouldn't bleed out but the sight of it made her sweat. Although a guest was to be expected, the carnivorous mouse attacking took her by surprise but on second thought she should have seen it coming. A month of running short on RC tablets would drive that thing crazy. However, it was rummaging around on her lap a few seconds ago with no sign of hunger. If it wasn't her pet subject, Morie would have questioned skinning it alive. Yet she could feel her blood already thickening and whenever the creature bit her, no scars remained. How could she accuse instinct?

The voice behind the door replied. "Alright then. Just to let you know, if the rain starts blowing undercover, I'm coming in."

Morie rolled her eyes. Even she couldn't disagree that the weather outside was horrid but honestly, couldn't he wait? Walking in on a bloodied room would give the wrong impression right away. Society was so paranoid anyway with the so-called threat of ghouls looming over peoples' heads.

With the possibility of limited time, Morie walked into the kitchen, grabbed her first aid kit and pulled out gauze and a bandage. She placed the gauze over the hole in her hand and pressed down on it to try to stop the blood flow. The wound from the small bit of flesh that got torn still oozed red but not as profusely. Gauze was still placed over it anyway to prevent the injury drying on the bandage. When the gauze was flowering with red, Morie removed it and placed a new snippet over the wound. She then promptly wrapped her hand in the bandage before opening and closing her hand to admire her handiwork. Her face grimaced due to the sharp pain that jolted up her arm.

Once the pain receded, she retrieved a roll of paper towel and stripped off squares to cover the puddles of blood that pooled in the kitchen and around her desk. She left them there to soak up the blood before opening a cupboard containing a dryer and clothes washer. She eyed the bottles of soaps that stood on a shelf above the machines and let out a hiss when she realised that she forgot to disinfect her wounds. Opening the dryer, she took out a burgundy jumper and placed it behind her on the kitchen bench before lifting the once crisp, white shirt up to expose her bra and stomach.

Morie groaned as she heard the sharp pelting of rain hitting the windows and let out a grumbled sigh as the front door flung open, revealing the soaked guest. He gawked, and his brown eyes drifted down to her chest. "That's a nice pair you got there." A large goofy smile appeared on his face and he winked at her.

Morie glared back at him. "Knock it off. If you speak of this, I know who you are, Oh, and close the door before my rat escapes." She shifted her glance to the tube she last saw Shirozumi scamper into. The guest shook his head, flicking small droplets of water from his dirty blonde hair as he closed the door behind him. His stare darted from Morie's torso to the red paper towel on the floor and the blossom of red blooming from the bandage wrapped around her hand and he took a step back. Morie sighed and put on her burgundy jumper. "The rumours are false. Nothing but idiotic buzz from students. My mouse gave me a nasty bite and blood got everywhere." She strolled into the kitchen, opened the fridge, took out a slice of chocolate cake and raised it into the air so the guest could get a good look. "Brought it yesterday and I plan to eat it while we talk." Morie lowered the cake, opened a draw and pulled out a fork. She pointed it at her guest. "You don't get any, Nagachika. Anyway, talk to me. Nishiki said something about a favour, right?"

He placed his right hand to his temple and said, "Yeah, something like that. You know that incident that people have been taking about? Well, the person involved is my best friend and he hasn't been the same since."

"Wait, that Kaneki guy is your best friend? Damn, that's rough." Morie stuck her fork into the cake as she leaned against the kitchen bench.

Thoughts of the chit-chat centred around the incident ran rampant through her brain. From the talk, she knew the kid was a loner with a single friend because always had his head in a book. Apparently, he walked into a door because his was too engrossed into a novel. It's a wonder how that kid even got into a situation that nearly got him crushed by the steel beams. People had already crafted a likely crack theory explaining that a ghoul was involved as witnesses saw him around a long-haired woman. And if that woman was a ghoul that meant the kidney transplant Kaneki received was troublesome. Although, people in Morie's class were already questioning if a kidney really was the organ donated. Morie stayed silent on these matters whenever it reared its head, too busy fiddling with vials of samples in the lab to discuss such things. Besides, the people around her seemed fascinated seeing Kaneki as a subject rather than a living being.

Chewing on a bit of cake, Morie smirked. "You're here because you want me to have a look at your friend, right? You think something went wrong with the operation. Let me guess, you think he is a ghoul now." She saw Hide swallow. _Spot on_, Morie thought to herself as her eyes narrowed. "Does Nishiki know your reasoning?"

"No. I just wanted to know where you lived. All I said was that I wanted to find out more about ghouls."

A laugh tugged at her throat and she let it out quietly as a soft chuckle. _Asking to know about ghouls from a ghoul, how ridiculous._ "That's probably for the best. Wouldn't want anyone else suspecting him." She then smiled before placing a fork-full of icing in her mouth. "Anyway, what's your reason for this? I'll look him over for you, but I just want to know your thoughts first. After that, I'll grab his address and head over. Just know, I am no doctor. Oh, and if he is a ghoul, I will not rat him out to the CCG. Not really motivated by such things…"

"What are you motivated by then?" he asked whilst walking into the kitchen.

Morie's eyes followed him and her smile faded into a neutral expression. "Morbid curiosity. Now, answer my request, Nagachika."

Hide glanced at her with a questioning look but decided not to pry into the matter. He sighed, "You know you could just call me Hide…"

"Hide is too informal. For now, I shall say Hideyoshi as a negotiation between your last and shortened name." Morie's eyes widened as she placed the plate that once contained cake upon it and the fork on the counter. "Give me a sec. Just need to grab my notebook." She shook her head and grumbled about the idiocy of nearly forgetting to take notes.

Once she fished around for a pen and notepad, Hide shrugged his shoulders and cleared his throat. "I've only seen him once since he got released from hospital. To celebrate we went to Big Girl, that American chain restaurant that sells burgers and the like. He ordered his favourite meal, but he spat it out like it was a foreign substance. He even apologised to the waitress who said that it was the result of possible food poisoning. I don't believe that. I mean the place is known for its hygiene and there is no way he could have reacted that quickly to food poisoning." Morie flicked to a clean page and quickly jotted down Kaneki's rejection of human food. "I've tried visiting him in his apartment, but he didn't answer the door and he hasn't been answering texts. I've even brought him a goodie pack containing some of his favourite foods and left it by the doorway. At the time I could hear him sobbing and muttering about wanting to eat."

Morie's glance shot up as she snapped her book shut. "Not. Good." She flicked on her coffee machine that sat behind her and grabbed out a black travel mug from one of her cupboards. "When was this?"

"About a week ago."

"Address now. Grab the white pill bottle on my desk. We need to get there as soon as possible." She pointed to the bottle and Hideyoshi went to grab it. Shirozumi had its body curled up next to it and noticed his swift attempt to grab it. The mouse leapt up in an attempt to obtain more food, but Hide's hand was too quick for the mouse to catch and he successfully retrieved the bottle.

The coffee machine let out a ding, signifying that it had heated up and was ready to use. Morie placed the cup underneath it and let the deep, brown liquid poor into it.

Hide had placed the bottle next to the coffee machine, wandered to Morie's desk and slid a book titled Dear Kafka out of the bookshelf suspended above it. "You read Takatsuki's work too?"

Morie looked up from the coffee machine and eyed the book. "I've read some of her works. I used to read a lot more when I was lot younger, but I haven't had the mind for it these last few years. I thought about starting again and bought that book. Very engaging. Took me a month to finish. Eventually, I want to buy some more."

"Kaneki will let you borrow his books," Hide smiled whilst slipping the book back. The coffee machine stopped buzzing as Morie flicked it off and placed the lid on the travel cup. "I could probably get him to let you borrow one today!"

"Yeah, no thanks. I don't want to intrude on someone I do not know." She picked up the cup, bottle and notebook before marching towards the door. Grabbing her umbrella sitting by the doorway she opened the door and looked at Hide. "I need directions and you're going to guide me."

Hide shrugs his shoulders and follows her out of the apartment as Morie opened her umbrella. "You can get under the umbrella whilst we walk."

"I'm good unless you want me to be your romantic partner. Also, already soaked, so there's not point trying to stay dry. Oh, you need to go down these stairs and make a left at the intersection." He held out an arm and pointed Morie in the correct direction.

Morie raised the umbrella. "Whatever suits you. If you catch a cold you could always go to Nishiki to beg for medicine," she mumbled as she gripped the stairway rails and carefully made her way down two flights of slippery stairs.

Five minutes went by with Morie being guided by Hide. The rain started to let up, but the wind kept blowing fiercely. Several times Morie's umbrella threated to break but the tall buildings surrounding the duo helped shield them from the wind.

"You know, I really hate this weather," Morie complained after an extended time of not talking. "It's always noisy. Disrupts my work." _And it smells too sweet,_ Morie thought as she turned a corner into an apartment complex.

Hide fiddled with the hood of his jacket and chose not to inquire about Morie's sudden statement. Instead, he pointed to a door on the second floor. "That's Kaneki's apartment. I think it's best that I wait outside… Knowing him, he wouldn't want me knowing."

Morie sighed and started walking up the stairs with Hide following behind. "Understandable. If I were a ghoul, I wouldn't want anyone knowing. The CCG is already harsh as it is."

Once they reached the door, Morie lowered her umbrella, folded it up and shook it to remove the droplets of water that clung to it. Hide stepped forward and knocked on the door. "Kaneki, open up. I need you to do a favour for me and I gottcha some coffee~ I know you're in there, so open up!"

A few moments passed before the door cracked open revealing a sliver of a face. The skin was pale presumably from not getting enough sun and the one visible eye was weary and tiresome looking. Black hair draped down, combed to appear neat. This was Hide's best friend, this mousey, scared boy.

He glanced around and briefly caught Morie's eyes before he managed to smile weakly. Hideyoshi shoved the coffee into Kaneki's hands before pushing the door fully open and entering. She got a good look at the boy who stood there glancing with a wary eye at the coffee cup. His left eye was covered up by a white medical eyepatch and he was dressed in a deep navy jumper. Kaneki moved aside, used to his friend barging in whenever he cracked open the entrance. Morie stood at the door, not wanting to enter without permission. The energetic blonde motioned for her to enter. She looked at Kaneki for confirmation, he let out a small, yet slow nod and she entered.

Morie glanced around the room, taking in all the bookshelves packed with books that were pressed against the walls. The kitchen was a mess. Plates and bowls and cups were piled in the sink, rinsed but not fully washed. Her nose picked up the faint scents of decomposing food that she knew were coming from a bin locked underneath the sink. More disturbingly, she could smell vomit. However, it was mostly covered up by the strong scent of coffee, most likely coming from the jars of Blondie Instant Coffee and the empty cups stained with brown scattered on the bench. Morie instantly knew he was a ghoul, at least partially.

Hide seemed unfazed by his friend's living space and slung his shoulder over the boy. The cup clutched in Kaneki's hand tilted, threatening to spill the contents. "Hide, you ought to be more careful," Kaneki protested in a quiet voice as Hide lifted his arm off the boy. "You should have warned me that you were coming over, let alone bringing a guest." He gave Hideyoshi a stern glare, but his face looked so kind and tired that it fell on deaf ears. Kaneki glanced down at his coffee, unsure if he should drink it.

Morie noticed his contemplation and said, "It's just pure black coffee. There's no milk or sugar in it. Though it's not that professional so don't expect it to be café quality." He took a sip, paused, looked pleased and took another. His eyes drifted from the coffee to Morie's bandaged hand before quickly darting back to the cup.

Hide's grin widened as he pointed two finger guns at Morie. "This here is Morie Masuda and because I'm worried, she's going perform a medical examination." He winked at Kaneki who continued to look down at the cup in his hands and gripped it tighter.

"I already see a doctor though."

"Well, I don't trust him. Morie is going to examine you whether you like it or not. Just take a look at yourself." Hide gestured to Kaneki. "You haven't been taking care of your body."

"I really don't know what you are talking about…" Kaneki looked up at Hide and touched his chin.

"You're lying," Morie stated, looking the boy directly in the eyes. Kaneki's face turned a shade lighter. "Hideyoshi is doing you a favour. If you don't follow through, you will likely die."

Hide's head shot to look at Morie's stoic face. "You can't go around telling people they'll die!"

Morie shrugged, opened her notebook and clicked her pen. "You are right. However, healthy treatment of the body is vital if one wants to live." Her eyes narrowed as she directed her gaze at the floor. "I can tell, you haven't been eating well, Kaneki. Staving yourself is what will kill you." She started rapidly taking notes. Notes about his unhealthy complexion, notes about his apartment and notes about his nervousness.

Kaneki took another sip of his coffee gingerly and looked at his best friend. Hide was smiling, staring Kaneki in the eyes not unlike a pleading dog. "I-I'll do it, but you should have warned me first, Hide."

"Aww you're the best~" He waved his hand before exiting the apartment and slipping behind the door. "Anyway, I'll be out here. Waiting, in the rain. See ya soon."

Morie looked up from her notes and held out her umbrella for Hide to take. "It's wet out there. I know you didn't mind getting wet coming over here, but you should at least borrow this, so you have some shelter."

Hide grabbed the umbrella, his grin widening. Then he shut the door leaving Morie and Kaneki standing awkwardly in silence. Kaneki kept taking sips of coffee whilst Morie flicked the pages of her notebook. She let out an "ahem" before signalling to Kaneki's desk. "It would be better if we sat for the examination." With wobbly steps, Kaneki grabbed a stool and placed it near his desk. Once he did that, he took a seat on the desk's chair whilst Morie sat on the stool. "I must apologise…" Morie mumbled, "From what I heard from Hideyoshi and because of my prior knowledge, I grew concerned about your health. I do not know you and you do not know me, thus I believe that my concern for you could be considered strange. I am extremely blunt when caught in this mindset." She stood up and bowed before returning to the seat. Kaneki's face grew flustered and his eyes surveyed his living space but quickly landed back on Morie's hand.

With another "ahem", Morie unscrewed the lid off of the white bottle and tipped out two red pills. "I'll get you to take these." She held them out to Kaneki. "I made these myself by compressing Red Child Cells into tablets. Think of them like vitamins. Vitamins for ghouls."

Kaneki nearly choked on the coffee he was drinking when he heard the word "ghoul". He placed his cup on the desk and raised his hand to his chin. "You think I'm a ghoul?"

Morie nodded. "I know you are." She sighed, "You might have heard my name being bounced around the university. Morie Masuda, the ghoul researcher. For the past three years I have been studying ghouls and doing experiments in order to know more about them. I can tell from the state of your apartment, Hide's description of you and your general appearance. Don't get me wrong, if my theory is correct, you have every right to be in this state."

He looked at Morie as she forced a smile. "Does Hide know?"

"No, he doesn't. He came to me after a conversation with a friend in the pharmaceuticals department as he knew that I had some qualifications as a doctor. I won't tell him either. That is something for you to do, not me."

Kaneki let out a deep sigh as a heard this and he hesitantly grabbed the pills out of Morie's hand. "You said these were made out of Red Child Cells. I've heard the name before but what exactly are they?"

"Usually shortened to RC Cells, these cells are what ghouls feed on. Each human is born with a number of RC Cells which can fluctuate over time which is why ghouls can only eat humans. As I said, I have just compressed these cells into tablets. There is nothing else in them apart from the cells. If there was anything else, they wouldn't be digestible for ghouls." Kaneki took a gulp of coffee, slid the two tablets into his mouth and swallowed. Morie put the cap back on the bottle and placed it on Kaneki's desk. "I will leave these here. There isn't many left but it's better if you have them for now. Just know, you cannot live on these. I compared them to vitamins for a good reason. Sure, they will give you the nutrients that you need but they will not fill you up. Ghouls still need the fibre they get from eating meat." He paled at the thought of eating humans.

"Thank you," he murmured.

"No worries. A ghoul's hunger is hell but I'm sure you already knew that. It is my goal that someday with these tablets, I will be able to invent a food that ghouls can eat. This is just prototype one." Morie paused. "I noticed that you were staring at my hand." She raised her bandage hand as if reaching for the ceiling. "It doesn't really hurt right now. You see, my pet mouse gave me a nasty bite and knowing that you would be hungry, I brought these pills over. Blood smells sweet and enticing so I'm sorry about the distraction… Anyway, where was I? Ah, yes." She softly clapped her hands together. "You were not always a ghoul. In fact, I have reason to believe that it is due to a recent event."

"S-so you know about that…"

Morie nodded before closing her eyes. "Unfortunately, people have been talking about it around the university. I wouldn't say they know your face, but they know your name." She opened her eyes and stared directly into Kaneki's. "The organ transplant you received was not the specified organ you actually got. It is my belief you received a kakuhou; the organ in ghouls which stores RC Cells."

His eyes widened but he said nothing.

"You are lucky to survive if my theory is correct." Morie mused. "It's not impossible as it has been done before. Eight months ago, I conducted an experiment on mic-" She paused. Her fists clenched, and her gaze fell. "GAH, I AM SUCH AN IDIOT!" Kaneki's shoulders dropped, and he quickly took another chug of his coffee only to realised it was empty. "I forgot to put it into its cage…" Noticing Kaneki's confused face, she explained. "My mouse, Shirozumi, is a ghoul. With permission, I was allowed to experiment with a set of mice. All but one lived when I inserted a small slice of a kakuhou into them. Thus, Shirozumi exists and I know for a fact it is possible to create ghouls."

Kaneki clutched his hands over his mouth pale lips. "Excuse me," he muttered as he rose from his chair and ran into his bathroom. Minutes pasted before he returned. Morie noted the droplets of water that clung to his chin and his watery eyes.

"I swear there was nothing in the coffee other than coffee a-and the tablets are just made of RC Cells. Nothing else! I wasn't trying to poison you."

He grabbed a book off one of the bookshelves and clutched it to his chest when he once again sat on his chair. "That wasn't the problem…"

Morie titled her head to the side but shrugged off her curiosity. With a wave of her hand she began to talk again. "Welp, I now know nearly everything. Ah, how do you write your name, by the way? Also, why do you wear that eyepatch?"

"The characters for gold and tree for Kaneki and the character polish for Ken." Kaneki took off the medical eyepatch and placed it on the desk. Revealed was a flickering kakugan. Black flecked with red engulfed his eye before it quickly returned to white and grey. Morie's eyes widened and she let out a short nod as she wrote down another note. Curtly, he put the eyepatch back on. He looked away from Morie and started reading the titles of books that were stacked on the bookshelves around him.

Morie clicked her pen twice before jotting down him name at the top of the page. "I was going to offer to provide more info about ghouls, but I feel like I have over stayed my welcome a bit. Besides, Hide is waiting outside. I'll get him to give you my contact information later in case you need my help in the future."

Morie sighed as she closed her notebook and got off the chair. Kaneki brought his attention back to her. "You're not going to tell him, right?"

"As I already said, I'm not going to tell Hideyoshi." And she left the room.

She opened the door to find Hide leaning against the railing. He was stretching his arm into the bright sunshine that showed itself after the rain stopped. Headphones covered his ears and he hummed out an unfamiliar tune. Morie walked up to him and gently tapped him on the shoulder. With a startled jump, Hide took off his headphones, retracted his arm and grinned at Morie. Kaneki poked his head out of the doorway and watched Hide.

"So how did it go?" Hide questioned as he handed the umbrella back to Morie.

"Fine. Stress. Makes sense," Morie answered without any expression.

Hide jumped up and brought a fist down as if he was doing a victory dance. He turned his head and noticed Kaneki by the door who froze. In his hands was Morie's travel mug. "You should have this back," he murmured to Hide as he held out the cup.

Hide took it with a smile before ruffling Kaneki's black hair. Kaneki didn't look very impressed, but he let out a small laugh after hearing Hide exclaim, "You're the best! You know that, dontcha? We best be on our way," Hide sighed. "You better come back to Kamii now. If you don't, expect me to pester you every day until you do!"

Kaneki retreated back into his apartment after whispering a goodbye to Hide. Inside he picked up the book he had placed on his desk, opened it up and let his tears fall onto the page. The bottle of tablets still remained on the desk, but he couldn't look at them, too weary of the girl who had handed them to him. He wondered if he should have even allowed Hide to bring her here.

He never asked for this. _I never should have gone on that date_, he thought as he curled up tighter in his bed.


	2. Chapter 2

It was a few days after visiting Kaneki when Morie got the text from Hide asking for her to meet him underneath a specific tree at five PM. Morie thought nothing of it and went to meet him there after cleaning up her lab space.

The weather was actually nice that day. The rain had stopped, and the sky had cleared letting sunlight trickle through the branches that Hide waited under. His smile widened when he saw Morie stride towards him with a laptop case slung across her shoulders and a backpack on her back. She raised a hand up and tilted it to the side before bringing it back down as if to say, "Hey". Hide enthusiastically shot his hand into the air and waved it side to side with vigour. "Oi, Morie, get over here!"

The other students around drew their attention to the hyperactive man. She sighed but picked up her pace and jogged towards him. When she got there Hide pulled out his phone and shoved it into her face. "As a thanks I'm going to treat you to this."

Morie pushed the phone back a bit whilst pointing out that he didn't need to do anything but the promotion image on the screen caught her attention. It was a sundae. A chocolate sundae with brownie bits and syrup and nuts all topped off with a bright red candied cherry. It made her mouth water just thinking about the sweetness that the dish would contain. Snapping herself out of her thoughts, Morie eyed the bombastic font detailing where the sundae could be purchased. It read "Big Girl", the American fast food restaurant that to the naked eye looked like the stereotypical image of America. Girls dressed in skirts multiple centimetres too short and large quantities of food piled up on plates were common place there, but it had the feel of respect and cleanliness that the Japanese highly valued. Morie had seen said place on fliers that crept their way into her pigeon box and had the idea of going there after Hide mentioned the place to her.

"The American place?" she mused. "America is known for their sweets…"

And with a shrug they left the university grounds and walked thirty minutes until they met a flashing, yellow building. Bold, neon lights were glowing even though the sun wouldn't begin setting for another two hours. Hide pushed open the glass doors and waited for Morie to step through them. She raised an eyebrow at the man before promptly walking through. Awaiting customers was a smiling girl dressed in the restaurant's uniform holding out menus.

"Welcome to Big Girl. Like what you see? Then come follow me and I'll show you to your seats." With a wink she took off and the students followed. She directed them to a window seat for two then introduced herself as Emma. Internally Morie scoffed. It was obviously a fake name made just to fit the atmosphere of the place. Afterall having a waitress taking with a Japanese name would ruin it. Heck, when she stepped inside Morie started counting how many stereotypical American things she could see. Amongst her quick glance she counted paintings of bald eagles soaring, small statues of Lady Liberty and numerous flags, not to mention the rock music blaring from the store' stereos. Hide, accustomed to the place took no notice but immediately ordered for both of them knowing full well what the menu contained. Morie guessed she shouldn't be surprised at his nonchalant attitude. He seemed like the guy to adventure to places such as Shinjuku to go see the show at the Robot Restaurant with the tourists just for fun. She was more interested in why Kaneki would come to such a gaudy place.

If his staring at Morie was any indication, Hide was growing restless at the stoic woman's lack of conversation. So boldly he asked her what was on her mind. Morie was still counting the number of flags she could see (19) but also let her mind drift to reasons on why the timid Kaneki came here. So far, the only thing she could think of was Hide. She decided to ask the source in front of her who seemed eager to talk. "Kaneki came here, right?"

"Yeah. You know what happened last time he did. I told ya."

"It's surprising that someone like him would even step foot inside. Due to the way the workers dress, it would probably turn his face red. Just from what I've seen, he would probably hide his flushed face with a book."

"You're not wrong. First time I dragged him here, he did hide his face with a book. Which reminds me." Hide bent down and reached for his backpack he hauled with him that contained some textbooks lugged from Kamii. A few moments passed before he pulled out a thin book titled Frankenstein. "You know that whole 'he'll probably let you borrow his books' thing? Well I managed to get this off him." The cover showed a man hauled over a desk whilst the stitched creation loomed in the background behind a set of curtains.

"He needn't have done that, but I respect that it is an interesting choice," Morie replied. "Tell him thanks when you see him next." She slipped it into her own bag next to her clipboard and notes. "It's strange. People always call Frankenstein's Monster Frankenstein. I think it's because of the marketing though I cannot say so as I have never seen the films nor read the book. What about you?"

"Reading's not my thing but I have seen one of the old films; you know one of the first ones made in black and white by Universal." Hide picked up a glass of water that the waitress poured for him earlier and took a gulp. "Should see him tomorrow so I'll tell him then, 'kay." He put the glass down as he causally pointed a finger at Morie. "Tell me more about you? You're so wrapped up in mystery, Ghoul Fanatic."

Morie shot him a glare. She was neither a ghoul nor a fanatic. Fanatics went around breathing in their fields 24/7 and shouted to the heavens about the dire importance of their topics. Morie simply studied and only talked about it when asked. "First, don't call me that. Secondly, you make it sound like this is a date," she responded.

Hide pulled a face and cradled his heart, mocking a fake sorrow. "You were the one to suggest sharing an umbrella. And here I thought we had something going."

Morie's glare continued but was quickly eased as the sundae topped off with richness was placed before her. Decorated with whipped cream, dobs of ice cream and covered with warm brownies, the treat was like a dream to her. But when it touched her tongue, the brownies had the consistency of a dried sponge despite being surrounded melting ice cream, but it was still sweet. Still filling. And she enjoyed it.

Hide poked at the hamburger brought out to him. With every prod, juices oozed from the patty and sizzled on the black hotplate. It was clear that it was cooked well. Morie even guessed that's why Kaneki even came here, for the food and for Hideyoshi. Hide closed his eyes in bliss, seemingly enjoying every bite.

He stopped when about half way through his meal and stared at Morie. "You know when I was here last with 'Neki we ended up talking. He told me that a girl would never come here with me. I guess he was wrong about that." Morie glanced up at him after finishing another spoonful of the sundae. Hide continued, "After some banter I came to the conclusion that taking a girl out for pasta would be my dream first date. I wonder if that will ever happen." He closed his eyes and tried to make a weak smile. "I find it sad that he can no longer enjoy pasta or hamburgers and the like anymore."

The only thing heard was the blaring English music until Morie let out a curt nod. "I keep my promises, so I could not tell you myself." She scraped the last bit of food off her plate. Hide by that point had already finished his dish with gusto.

"So why do what you do, anyway?" he asked.

With a clutter of cutlery, she replied, "I'm discovering answers to a question I have asked myself for many years. You could call it a question that originated with my family history."

It intrigued Hide although how he was greeted with even more silence. Morie's eyes looked somewhat glazed to him thus he decided that now was not the time nor place to push for answers. So, they simply sat there in silence, listening to Highway to Hell.

Hide's eyes were directed downwards as he heard the scrape of a metal chair on the floor. Morie had stood. She gave a quaint bow as if to say "good day" before beginning to walk towards the exit. However, she hesitated for a moment then turned to face Hide. "Thank you for this, Hideyoshi. It was delicious." She briefly pointed her bandaged finger at the empty bowl before retracting it, turning away from the boy.

Hide grabbed her wrist and flashed another one of his famous smiles. "I told ya, just call me Hide." He too paused for a moment before continuing. "You know what, you should hang out with us. I'm sure both of us would enjoy your company. Just Kaneki and I. "He let go of his grip.

She stood dumbfounded. This boy just a few years younger than herself, invited her to "hang out" which left her with no reply. Was he lacking brain cells or genuine? Morie didn't know. People just avoided her, that's how life was. It was alien, foreign. Yet she wanted it. "You know I shouldn't. I have things to do," she answered hesitating, excuses balancing on the tip of her tongue.

"Aww come on. Please?" He started widening his eyes in an attempt to make a puppy dog face.

"It's not right," Morie sighed. "The thought of becoming friends with someone I barely know, let alone scared half to death."

Hide smirked. "You're just scared, aintcha?"

"N-no."

"You are! I can see it in your eyes," Hide laughed. Surely enough, Morie's eyes were trying to focus on the blue speakers behind Hide. She was still standing too, eager to leave but her legs wouldn't move. They felt as weak as jelly.

Hide gently grabbed her wrist again and slowly pulled her downwards back to the table. Morie like a dog on a leash followed along until both of them were once again seated. Her body was like that of a rock, stiff, tense and unmoving. Human interaction was never her forte. Those blue speakers seemed extremely interesting to her at that moment.

Hide was still cracking his smile and trying to contain his laughter before it got out of hand. To him this sort of situation was familiar. Kaneki never wanted to really be around people before Hide ran up, tackled him and demanded his friendship. He would do the same here just without the tackling part. "Look, you can. I may not have a lot in common, but you and 'Neki sure do." At this statement Morie glanced at Hide and raise and eyebrow. "You both isolate yourselves. I wouldn't say you are shy, but I do think you look down on yourself. It's probably along the lines of this, 'No one is interested in what I do. No one really talks to me. Thus, I conclude that what I do is weird and if it is weird why should they interact with me?'" Moire gulped slightly. He was spot on. "You need to return the book anyway." Hide finished with a wink as Morie glanced downwards at her twiddling thumbs, deep in thought.

The waitress returned and cleared the plates off the table but Morie remained silent for the moment. As the waitress passed by, plates balancing on her arms, the scientist took in a gulp of air. "I'll think about it…"

She got up and exited the restaurant swiftly leaving Hide grinning and with the bill. He knew she would return.

Only two days passed before Morie bumped into Hide again. It was in a narrow hallway linking the pristine biology section of Kamii University to the pharmaceuticals department. He was just rushing out of an office that Morie knew well, holding a messy stack of paper. He fumbled with the sheets and dove in order to retrieve one that was slowly floating downwards. Morie herself was taken aback at the sudden appearance of the man and let a gasp pass through her lips.

Hide looked up, his mouth agape and immediately dropped the stack. "It's you! I knew we were fated," he almost shouted whilst pointing a finger in her direction in exasperation.

"And what of it, Hideyoshi?" Morie questioned.

"Aww, come on you can at least call me Hide," he whined before bending down and scooping up the paper. "It's awkward if you just call me Hideyoshi or Nagachika. Besides haven't we evolved into friends yet?" Morie clenched her fists into a tight ball and focused her eyes intently on the boy who had only just finished picking up his papers. His eyes were also focused on Morie's but they darted ever so slightly, analysing every reaction on her stoic face. "Your eyes tell me everything. You can't hide away forever~ Please won't you join me for stroll to a vending machine? It will be my treat once again," Hide offered with a grin.

Morie pondered the idea for a second or two, knowing that the closest vending machine wasn't too far away and accepted the offer. As a university student free anything seemed like a good idea. One can't just live off instant ramen and microwave meals for their entire life after all.

The two of them made their way out of the corridors and into the fresh air and sunlight warmly glowing behind clouds that were slowly gathering. Morie could smell the tang of moisture in the air and her nose wrinkled in displeasure as she saw splotches of crimson flicker in and out of her eyesight. She closed her eyes tightly to try to disperse the imagery and once it had faded, she swiftly opened them once again. Hide caught her brief expression and became interested in why her nose twitched in disgust. "Hey, Morie, what's wrong? Something seems up?"

She turned her head to stare at the boy's brown eyes, calculating her response. Taking in a deep breath, almost tasting the scent of rain on her tongue, Morie figured she might as well somewhat tell Hide. "Rain brings back bad memories therefore I do not like the smell of it."

The mystery of who Morie was and her psychology fascinated Hide but he masked his curiosity, frowned slightly whilst giving out an "Well okay then…" then continued back to smiling, dropping the subject. One day he would be able to discover what made Morie tick.

People passed by the two and distracted Morie away from her thoughts and from the boy beside her. Soon she found herself walking not to the nearest vending machine but to the main outdoor sitting area of Kamii University. There were sleek metal tables alongside older wooden ones situated underneath trees full with vivid leaves. Concreate paths with red bricks detailing the edges lead students to and from the different buildings and along a wall stood seven vending machines offering every drink from warmed coffee in a bottle to refreshing peach Fanta.

Morie nearly missed a figure with black hair and a singular white eyepatch sitting at one of the benches with his nose in a book Morie recognised, Dear Kafka. She had read that book when it first came out due to its popularity. From there she discovered the works of Franz Kafka and brought a translate copy of Contemplation. Reading a story a day, Morie became enraptured with flow of words Kafka weaved together to convey the grim reality of the world around her and when she finished reading the book with the story Unhappiness, she found herself reflecting on her grim outlook and longing for the time where she could happily munch konpeitou besides her mother and father, like the narrator gazing upon the ghost girl.

Focusing back on Kaneki blissfully unaware of her presence she once again turned to Hide still grinning like a maniac. "You tricked me," she hissed in a low voice but sighed and relaxed her face. This was an opportunity to see house the mousey boy was doing. Honestly, Morie didn't have much hope for the boy, at least not in his current state. He seemed too nervous and unsure of himself to really do much. 'Going from human to ghoul must be putting the boy through hell,' she thought to herself whilst gazing back to Kaneki's head noticing the contrast between his jet-black hair and pale white skin.

Hide stealthily tip toed his way over to his best friend and tapped him once on a shoulder before darting behind his other. Kaneki jumped and quickly closed his book before looking pasted the shoulder Hide touched, noticing his friend had moved just out of his sight. "You're back. I didn't think you would come back so quickly," Kaneki said as he trailed off, noticing Morie dressed in her dark burgundy jumper and black tracksuit pants. It then quickly darted to her hand wrapped in gauze. Her eyes hung low and dark circles had formed from enduring the trials and tribulations associated with her research and constant report writing. Kaneki froze stiffly at the sight of her which Morie noticed and looked focused her eyes on the ground beneath her feet.

"Yeah, I got all the paper I needed to fetch for the cultural festival. But hey, look who I bumped into~" Hide sung catching Kaneki and Morie's attentions.

"Hello again," Morie said as she redirected her attention to Kaneki and Hideyoshi.

Hide with his bright personality cut through the awkwardness emanating from the other two figures with his laughter and smile. He grabbed onto one of Morie's shoulders and directed her to the seat across from Kaneki. "'Neki, do you mind minding these for a minute or two?" Hide asked and before Kaneki could answer, he placed his stack of papers next to Dear Kafka. "I believe I promised you a vending machine drink, didn't I? So, what do you want to drink?"

"Hot chocolate, please." She wondered if she should get up and follow Hide rather than stay with Kaneki but he stood behind her at an angle that blocked off her most easy exits and figured that she could still question Kaneki about the tablets' effectiveness.

"Kaneki?" Hide inquired.

"I'll have some coffee, if you don't mind," he replied. Hide walked over to Kaneki and ruffled his neat hair. In response the boy shut his eyes until Hide stopped and opened them in a mock happiness as a way to thank his friend for the free drink.

Bouncing away from the table, Hide strode towards the vending machines whilst fumbling with the loose change in his pockets. His on the fly plan was working smoothly and a sly grin creeped its way to his lips.

Meanwhile, both Kaneki and Morie started twiddling their thumbs to help relieve their racing minds. Figuring that she might as well ease into the conversation, Morie opened her mouth to say, "So, Dear Kafka. How many times have you read it? I've read it myself when it first came out."

At this comment Kaneki perked up slightly and gently scratched his forehead. "To be honest, I've lost count. Takasuki's novels are always so interesting so I find myself re-reading them quite often." He paused slightly before asking Morie, "Do you enjoy reading her works too?"

"Well I haven't actually read some of her latest works. I've been too busy with my research but I wouldn't mind reading them some time in the future when I'm not busy writing reports. By the way, I should thank you for lending me Frankenstein. I haven't started reading it though as I've been busy trying to replenish the amount of RC cells I can use. I need to feed Shirozumi and help after all."

His mind flashed to the container of red pills she had given him noting that none remained now. When he first got the bottle there were only nine tablets plus the two Morie had made him take. His stomach still growled, longing for muscles and organs and the bones of others but he pushed on for Hide. Still shoved in the lowest corner of his fridge still sat the package wrapped in brown paper offered to him by the manager of Anteiku and so many times he had been tempted to devour it but stopped at the last second, too afraid of becoming a cannibalistic monster. So, he took the pills and greedily ate them in a mad hunger before thinking, praying that they would make his suffering end.

"Oh," he mumbled realising what Morie had sacrificed to help him, a person she knew nothing about.

"On the topic of RC cells, I've been wanting to ask; how the tablets have been going?" Morie had only tested them on Shirozumi and Nishiki and as Shirozumi was a mouse and thus could not speak, she couldn't really get feedback on the tablets. As for Nishiki, be begrudgingly took them when Morie presented him with some then proceeded to state that they were shit but helped curb his hunger slightly. So, having another person as a subject was seen as a bonus in her eyes.

He raised a hand to his chin and looked Morie in the eye. "I feel somewhat better and have a few more tablets left so you don't need to worry about rushing to make more for me."

"Okay."

Wind blew past them, ruffling the leaves in the nearby trees reminding Morie of the moisture in the air. "You know, it will likely rain later today," Morie said. "You might want to go home quickly or at least have an umbrella with you."

It was at that moment that Hide returned carrying a bottle of hot chocolate stacked on top of a can of coffee in one hand and a bottle of Fanta in the other. He ran up to the table once the two sitting individuals spotted him and placed the ordered drinks in front of each person. Morie casually unscrewed the metal lid off the bottle and began to sip at it whilst Kaneki in contrast hesitantly pulled at the metal ring sealing it shut until the sound of aluminium separating resounded. Hide on the other hand a bit too eagerly opened the drink. It fizzed and bubbled over the boundaries of the container. Fumbling with the cap, Hide desperately fumbled to try to contain the soft drink's mini explosion to little avail. Foam sprayed over the concrete as Hide lost a third of his drink. His knees collapsed to the ground and he lifted his arms to the sky as the last few droplets of Fanta dripped downwards. "Oh, why are you like this to me!" Hide mocking cried to an invisible God much to the bemusement of both Morie and Kaneki.

A smiling Kaneki pointed out that maybe he shouldn't have run with the drinks and Morie nodded in agreement whilst lightly laughing at the unfortunate boy who would be covered in sticky residue for the rest of the day. The thought of Hide handling the papers he collected with sticky hands amused Morie. Hide himself didn't seem to mind though. He stood up and started loudly laughing with the other two.

As Morie continued to sip at her quickly cooling hot chocolate her walls begun to crack and the longing that came with an offering of friendship seemed too good to deny any longer. So, when she finished the drink, noted the time and realised that she needed to collect Shirozumi from her lab, Morie curtly excused herself from the table stating, "I will see you two around some other time. Thank you for the drink Hide."

Hide beamed after Morie said those words and nudged Kaneki with a sticky elbow. "Look who's decided to join our little gang," he whispered into the ear of his best friend as Morie slipped behind a campus door.

"It seems that way," Kaneki said his voice wavering slightly. The scent clinging to Hide was beginning to get stronger but because of the pills he had received, he was able to spend time with his best friend until he became a beast, thus maybe including her wouldn't be so bad.

**Author's Note: **

**Frankenstein: The novel Frankenstein was written by Mary Shelley and tells the story of Victor Frankenstein using science to create life. This results in the monstrous looking Frankenstein's monster who is actually a caring creature. I have drawn parallels to Frankenstein through the relationship between Morie and Shirozumi. In Frankenstein, one of the points that people analyse is the effect of science and when to deem it has gone too far. Morie eventually create a new life for Shirozumi through questionable science.**

**Japanese vending machines: I am sure that everyone reading this has heard about the wonders of Japanese vending machines. The ratio of vending machine to person is about one vending machine to every 23 people. Considering that Japan has a population of Japan is 126.8 million people that means that there are about 551,3043 vending machines in Japan. From personal experiences I can tell you that they are everywhere. The most common ones are ones that sell drinks. These vending machines have a lot of drink variety from your normal soft drinks and water to canned and bottled drinks such as coffee and hot chocolate that come out warm after you purchase them. Furthermore, you can also get some really weird vending machines that can sell anything from clothing to canned escargot.**

**Franz Kafka's Contemplation: This collection of 18 short stories was written between 1904 and 1912. One of these stories is called The Street Window and only consist of two sentences detailing the thoughts of a man as he looks out a window. The story I mentioned by name, Unhappiness is also from Contemplation and is about a narrator who encounters the ghost of a young girl after witnessing a chaotic scene. It turns out that the ghost girl was part of the narrator's psyche as a reminder of the youthful childhood he once had. I chose this story as Morie's favourite from Contemplation as it reminds her of the joyful times she had when she was still a child and the opening sentences of Unhappiness is meant to reflect on a certain event in her past.**

**Konpeitou**** （金平糖）****: This is a colour Japanese hard candy which is made out of sugar and is usually bagged or packaged in a small cup. Due to the way they are made, each piece of konpeito is shaped like a spikey ball.**


	3. Chapter 3

"Hey, did you every realise that Big Girl kinda looks like Sukiya?" Hide pondered out loud trying to break the awkward tension in the group. Morie had taken Hide on his offer to spend time with him and Kaneki which resulted in the skittish boy's paler face and twiddling fingers. "They are both yellow and red. I mean what's the coincidence in that!"

"Isn't McDonalds yellow and red as well?" Kaneki mumbled.

Morie glanced up from her laptop screen to meet Hide's eyes. "Kaneki is correct."

The nervous boy's eyes darted to Morie's hands. The wounds she received healed surprisingly quickly for something so sever. Within days of it happening the gauze was removed, band aids were applied, and she now comfortably toiled away in her lab with her injuries covered in pink marks of newly healed flesh. She quickly took notice, stopped her work by shutting the lid of her laptop and gently tapped the small glass cage next to her. Shirozumi lifted its head off the shredded newspapers lining the floor before leaping up to paw at the glass. With a click, the steely looking lid popped off and Morie reached inside to grab her pet who happily squeaked as it was lifted up and allowed to scamper across the tips of her fingers. She stared intently and paid close attention to the mouse's cold paws with every step it took. Her mind wondered. Was Kaneki pale because of his anxiety or had he still not coped? It was probably a combination of the two… Well what could she do to help? Afterall she didn't want her or her newly found friend to become slices of steak for him to devour.

Whilst she was in her thoughts, Hide was jesting with Kaneki about a potential conspiracy theory surrounding fast food chains and their colour schemes saying something along the lines of "The Illuminati is in on it". Kaneki protested against such a theory calmly stating that red and yellow colours urged certain emotions such as happiness and rushed decision-making. As soon as he heard his friend's response, a "Told you so! There is a conspiracy!" was yelled. It did not perturb Morie's thoughts.

Their semi-argument was cut short when Morie tired of thinking too hard about things and the repetitive pitter pattering of Shirozumi's paws on her skin told everyone to "Get your hands off the table unless you want the possibility of being bitten by my rodent." They both quickly obliged knowing and seeing the result of the wounds the mouse inflicted. Shirozumi just proceeded to run around the edges, sticking its nose into the air to sniff at unfamiliar scents.

Humdrum made it to Morie's ears as a group of students soon approached the table to direct their attention at Hide who was about to leap forward to give Kaneki a friendly ruffle of the hair.

Shirozumi nearly made a leap off the table but Morie quickly grabbed its tail and dropped the animal back into its cage. It wriggled and writhed perturbed by its sudden loss of freedom. She saw the signs of a glowing red eye and slight chattering of teeth, so she quickly shed her jacket off and draped it over the cage. Silence entered her mind for just a moment even though Hide was talking to the new arrivals about the upcoming cultural festival. It was soon cut by the sounds of harsh banging. It echoed in the air around them. Sharp, angry furious. It stopped mere moments after it began and when she looked under the jacket, she found the thing asleep as if nothing had happened at all. A deep sigh escaped her lips. She needed those denied RC Cells quickly.

Morie was physically knocked out of her thoughts as Hide gently tapped her on her head. There was nothing in his face telling her that he was concerned at all. Hide jabbed his thumb behind him and pointed at the group of people behind him who were starting to dissipate. "Need to grab a DVD from Nishiki."

"Nishiki?"

"Yeah, Nishiki. He's my senpai. Come to think of it, you would be considered my senpai too." He started wiggling his eyebrows and Morie stared him in the eyes giving him a firm "no". "Anyway, it's for the cultural festival. Wanna tag along? I know he's your friend."

"Acquaintance actually," Morie sighed and shifted her glace towards Kaneki his nose buried back into his book. "You be careful around him, alright. Hey, Kaneki, are you going as well?" He looked up from his book and gave a curt nod. "In that case, be extra careful, both of you. He can be a royal dick when he wants to be. Unfortunately, that seems to be what he wants right now, so take heed."

Hide swung an arm over Kaneki's shoulders and used the other one to point at Morie. "Aww, he's not that bad~"

Morie raised an eyebrow but quickly directed her attention to Shirozumi's cage. Weary that the thing could start acting up again and the fact that her two newfound friends we about to walk into ghoul territory, she made up her mind to follow the two not just for them but for herself too. She needed RC Cells and there was only one way she knew how to get an extremely small amount safely. Blood. Her own blood. For that she would need to use some of the pharmaceutical equipment. Lucky for her, Nishiki was the one who allowed her to grab said equipment.

The trio made their way through the university grounds until they reached a simple sliding door labelled with a series of numbers indicating that it was Nishiki's workspace. Hide reached out his hand ready to open the door but Morie held out her arm to stop him. "Trust me, knock before you enter," she warned before tapping her knuckles against the door. With the sound of muffled ruffling, a few seconds later the door slid open and a brunet with short hair quickly strode out. Morie eyed the woman fully knowing who she was then quickly faced Hide with an 'I told you so' expression for she once made the same mistake Hide nearly did.

A man with hazelnut hair lounged on his desk chair, eyes somewhat narrowed in mild annoyance. The room itself was filled with bits and bobs, messy papers but what stood out to Morie every time she stepped into the room was the windowsill stacked with jars of instant Blondy coffee and the trashcan filled with dented coffee cans that once belonged to the local vending machines. It was one of the first signs that told her that this man was a ghoul and now fully knowing she knew he would be screwed if the CCG ever suspected him.

Morie glanced over to Kaneki curious to judge his reaction upon seeing another ghoul. She thought that surely, he could smell the large amount of coffee in the room and had heard from Nishiki that ghoul could smell other ghouls. For her it was like a mini test of sorts. However, she wasn't fully prepared for what she witnessed. Kaneki had turned ghostly pale at the sight of the man which seemed to be a normal action for Kaneki to do even if it was a bit extreme. What really alerted Morie was Nishiki's reaction to Kaneki. For a split-second hatred flashed across Nishiki's eyes but it quickly disappeared as he gestured for the trio to enter the room.

Kaneki was fidgeting around nervously looking like he was about to pass out but even through the twitching he managed to stutter out an introduction. Nishiki made his way over and stood towering over the boy. His eyes narrowed, and his mouth widened with every word he uttered.

Morie kept a close watch, inching closer to Kaneki. Her left hand drifted to the pocket of her jacket and brushed over the scalpel concealed inside in case her acquaintance tried anything. Although they had been working together for just short of a year, she did not fully trust the ghoul. He could play the part of a human to some extent, but she knew his temper could be nasty and sharp like that of a snake's.

Hide for his part from what Morie guessed kept a facade of ignorance about the situation, causally grinning. The tension was so thick that a butter knife could cut through it but Hide seemed to lighten the situation by just being in the room. "Yeah, yeah, introductions are out of the way now, so how about that DVD?" Hide joyfully questioned.

Nishiki backed away from Kaneki and over to a shelf containing a mixture of books, CDs and DVDs and traced his fingers over each of their spines. "It was the cultural festival wasn't it? It should be around here somewhere."

"Yeah, it has a green cover!" piped Hide as he wandered over to Nishiki's location eager to get his hands on it.

Morie continued to keep close to Kaneki and relaxed her left hand. Under her breath she whispered to the anxious boy. "Try to keep calm. If anything happens, I know what to do." Upon hearing this he paled even more to which Morie ignored somewhat irritated by Kaneki's squirminess.

After assuring Kaneki, she needed to get something out of Nishiki too; permission to use the pharmaceutical equipment he had access to. So, she asked him whilst he searched and he chucked her his set of keys to get into the storage room. Furthermore, because she would come back to the room during the start of the next day, she left Shirozumi's cage against the wall in order to save her the burden of carting the creature and its belongings back to her apartment.

With a loud groan from Hide as Nishiki faked forgetting to bring the DVD with him from his apartment, Morie raised her eye knowing that it was uncharacteristic of him to go through the action of saying that he had it then changing it to "Oh, I must have left it at home".

Strongly gripping the scalpel out of suspicion and distrust, her thumb slipped onto the blade slicing a sliver of flesh open just a paper cut. Although Morie showed no inclination of pain, Kaneki definitely noticed. He bit his lip desperately trying to distract his mind from the enticing scent as his felt his mouth beginning to water. He reached for Morie's arm then halted. It was wrong. He couldn't eat another human being no matter how much his stomach boiled so he shoved her away and turned away just as the homely smell faded. Morie stumbled, taking a step and leading forward due to the force but shortly regained her normal posture soon afterwards.

From the corner of his eye, Nishiki saw the whole thing and narrowed his eyes in interest. He too smelt the drop of blood but ignored it, choosing instead to purr an offer to retrieve his "forgotten" disk with Hide. "Your friend can come too," he added after a slight pause and gestured to the back-facing Kaneki.

"Sure, if he wants, man." At this Kaneki turned his head to look at Nishiki. His eyes glinted with a hidden anger filled with distrust but agreed to the offer anyway.

Morie also squinted her eyes wearily calculating Nishiki's actions and determining the best path of action. If he wanted Kaneki to come along, she should too. Something had gone down between the two at some point in time and she knew from their reactions that if she did not do something, it would be the death of at least one living being in the room and it would most likely be Hide taking the fall. She reached again for her scalpel for security before saying, "If Kaneki is going, I am too. You wouldn't have a problem with that would you Nishiki?"

"The more the merrier." With his hands in his pockets, Nishiki strode out of the room smirking.

Once out of sight Hide scratched his nose and looked at the stacks of coffee jars. "You know, I might actually hate him. Nishiki, I mean. He feels poisonous."

"I couldn't agree more," Morie said and whipped out her scalpel to point at Hide. Its silvery edge shone dangerously in the light but she quickly hid it again by tucking it back into her pocket. "Listen, if anything happens, we can sort this out."

"You plan to stab him with that?" Hide deadpanned.

"No, I plan to incapacitate him. It's made of quinque steel so it's extremely sharp and strong."

"Yeah, but it's so tiny…"

Morie shot him a look of annoyance as the three of them stood in the room. Kaneki was facing the door watching for any sign of the ghoul outside. The only sound heard was the squeeking of Shirozumi and the fading steps of Nishiki/ Hide noting that they'd better catch up with him started to rush out of the room leaving Morie and Kaneki to cautiously follow behind.

The sky was being to bleed shades of orange and red due to the pollution of Tokyo city and the setting of the sun. Unlike the previous few days that were shifting from rainy to sunny, it was the day where that trend seemed to end. Parts of the sky were visible through the towering skyscrapers only showed scatterings of cotton candy clouds that hung lazily due to the low wind speeds.

The group of tense university students casually walked past shops selling everything from scrappy clothes to warm treats like takoyaki and taiyaki. Not having eaten that day out of sheer stupidity Morie's stomach let out a growl which grabbed the attention of Hide and Nishiki.

"Alright, we're gonna stop here," Nishiki suddenly announced and pointed at the closes taiyaki shop. "I'm beginning to get hungry so I'll get taiyaki for everyone."

"Aww, yes!" Hide jumped in the air and fist pumped. Any free food was considered good food let alone a free snack with some people he considered friends.

With an order of four red bean taiyaki, each person received one. To Morie and Hide the steam seeping from the golden fish wrapped in paper looked so enticing that they immediately took a bite of it and closed their eyes in bliss as the sweetness of the red bean paste pleased their tongues.

Kaneki on the other hand froze, face grimacing at rotten smell of fish left out for far too long that made it to his nose. Noticing this Morie finished the last few bites of the fish, crushed the taiyaki wrapping and shoved it into a pocket. "If you are not hungry now, have it later."

Realising this, he nervously wrapped the fish back up and placed it in his satchel just as Nishiki calmly took a bite of the fish's head and swallowed. Morie wasn't surprised by his sudden action of eating as he had told her how he could do it. But it was a test, a test from Nishiki forced upon Kaneki.

The snake was always cunning in its ways.

When the two first met it was no different. She'd cornered him in his office and shut the door so no outside people would be able to see the results of her conversation with him. Morie never expected the interaction to go smoothly in the first place and thus had managed to squirrel away some RC suppressants in her backpack along with her scalpel held closely in her pocket. Bluntly, Morie accused him of being a ghoul then proceeded to list everything in the room that gave away his ghoul act. There was little tact in the way she talked to him and Nishiki in his dumbfoundment grew an increasingly reddening face due to the sheer ballsiness of the woman he knew nothing about standing right in front of him. His kakugan flared to life as he readied himself to bisect her but halted when Morie lowered herself to sit cross legged on the floor and simply stated that she wanted to discover more about the world of ghouls and integrate greater understanding between the senseless discrimination between human and ghoul. If that wasn't enough, she explained her current research into the nutrition ghouls needed and theorised that if she had a guineapig that a reality where ghouls wouldn't have to kill for food would eventually be possible. Nishiki had let her go that day but Morie awoke to a surprise when she found her printed notes and theories scattered around her apartment. Left on top of her laptop case was a sticky note scrawled with an address. That was the start of their mutual partnership.

So, when Nishiki turned a corner sooner than he should of, Morie tensed and reached for Hide, the closest person to the deceiving ghoul. It was too late. Everything appeared in slow motion. Her fingers curled around thin air as Hide's body soared horizontally into the stack of wooden planks, rotting ladders and discarded tires as Kaneki screeched out his name in desperation.

"Bastard!" Morie scowled whilst Nishiki casually strolled up to the two of them, ignoring Hide's limp body. His eyes flashed with black and red as he reached two fingers into his mouth, gagged and spat out the taiyaki he'd swallowed.

"Now that the hyperactive brat is out of the way, Morie be a dear and get out." He rolled his head around his shoulders cracking it as he went. "We wouldn't want you to die tragically here, now would we?"

At this comment, Morie fished for her scalpel and jabbed it in the man's direction. Gritting her teeth, she stood her ground in front of Kaneki. "Back off, Nishiki. We may have a partnership but if you dare do anything else, I will terminate it. I will warn you once again. Back. Off."

A slim smile crept to his lips. For a split second he vanished only to appear right next to Morie who lunged to stab him. A sliver patterned fabric from his shirt sliced open as a dribble of blood seeped from the shallow cut. "I've been wanting to be rid of you since the second we met," he hissed into her ear before punching her in the gut.

Morie gasped for air as her diaphragm refused to suck it in. Her body caved onto Nishiki's arm as she dropped her scalpel on the ground with the clattering of metal hitting concrete echoing. Grabbing onto the loose fabric of her shirt, Nishiki then slammed her onto the ground the with the force only possessed by ghouls. The ground under her body cracked from the impact and she felt pain shoot through her body. It was like a heavy weight was constantly baring down on her preventing even the slightest of twitches from her fingers.

As Kaneki was lifted up by the collar of his shirt, she could do nothing but watch the blurring vision of the struggle. Foggy legs swung as the face of a viper loomed overhead. Like sinking in the depths of an ocean, the spluttering coughs, gasps of her newly found friend and the taunts of her once acquaintance mashed together into a tangle of agony and wrath.

Nishiki dropped the boy as he lurked his way over to Hide's unconscious body and placed his foot on top of the dirty blond hair. "Don't tell me you weren't planning to do anything to them?" He gestured to Morie with an open hand and continued. "Ah, spoiling another's meal is the best kind of feeling, wouldn't you agree?" With each word, Nishiki applied more pressure to Hide's head whilst Kaneki picked himself off the ground, grinding his teeth.

"Get your foot off him…" Kaneki said weakly as he tore his satchel from his shoulder. It drifted past Nishiki's head and Kaneki fell head first after throwing a punch that missed its mark.

Nishiki just cackled tauntingly in response, grabbed Kaneki's arm and sent him spinning into a wall near Morie. He stepped on Morie's chest to get closer to Kaneki's crouched form and reached for the boy's head, tearing off his eyepatch in the process. Staring back at the man was the duel eyes of Kaneki which had been sharpened into an intense rage. Pupils were retracted in fear and determination as he flung his scrawny in an attempt to land a hit on the ghoul.

"Alright, I'm done playing," Nishiki said deflecting one of Kaneki's pitiful attacks. He retracted his arm and punched they boy firmly in the face, knocking him back into the wall, a bloodied pulp.

Twisting around his right leg, Nishiki's tail-like kagune tinted blue with flecks of emerald appeared and as he stepped over Morie, her vison came back into focus. Panic flooded her body but she still couldn't move. Something was definitely broken somewhere and her muscles still refused to twitch but at least her breath had returned to normal.

As Nishiki approached Hide, Kaneki scrambled, inching forward like some desperate insect. Tears clouded his vision until he felt a soft surface slowly moving up and down.

"Move. Get up." Morie had croaked those words as her brown eyes sifted to meet his. "If you do nothing, we'll all die."

The last drops of tears fell onto the navy fabric of Morie's button up shirt as Nishiki slowly lowered his foot closer and closer to Hide's face.

Then something snapped.

Kaneki clenched his fists and rose. His mouth morphed into a snarl and he leaped at Nishiki, tackling him to the ground away from Hide's form. Flaring from low back three tendrils of crimson burst outwards and pierced Nishiki in the chest. Flicking Nishiki up, the newly revealed kagune suspended the Nishiki in the air. Blood rained down as his body was repeatedly pierced by the scaled appendages formed into spears and shot themselves through his body. Nishiki screamed out in pain, eyes bulging and fingers clawing at anything, anything at all to get him out of this hell that would surely kill him. His body hung like a rag from the metal pipes twisted on the walls enclosing the alleyway and he was silent.

As the red kagune broke and faded back into Kaneki's body, his kakugan didn't fade away. The metallic stench of blood and the sweet scent of flesh made Kaneki's mouth water and drool. Maddened out of hunger and spent energy, his legs wobbled to the closest human body which happened to be Hide's.

Noticing this, Morie urged her body to move, to get up, to do something. Her first friend in forever would not, could not be devoured before her eyes. She could not let anything like that happen again, not when she had vowed to create a world where no one would be eaten due to insanity. Only her arms wanted to work so she was left there stretching out to the boy who loomed over Hide, bits of spittle dripping from his jaw. "Kaneki, you need to stop. Just stop!" The words fell on deaf ears due to his own muttering mumblings.

Everything happened quickly. Expecting herself to witness the death of her bubbly friend, her eyes were fixated in horror on his body so she didn't see or sense the presence of another ghoul who had entered the fray.

"Seems you've become pretty reprehensible. You fool." The voice was feminine yet oozed coldness. "It's so painful you'd rather die, right?"

Kaneki turned to face her, a snarl once again distorting his soft features into something to fear. Drool ceased flowing from his mouth as the threat of a competitor took over his mind. His kagune bubbled and formed, poised to strike. It didn't matter that they had met before. The black-haired girl was nothing but an enemy, a threat ready to take his meal. "They're mine."

"Look at yourself. Soaked in blood and guts about to eat your friends. It's pathetic," she spat and closed her eyes, opening them to reveal pools of onyx glowing with a fiery red. "I'm tired of all of this but for this one time I'll help you out." Like a gas pipe had burst out of her shoulder the alleyway was filled with a faint and warm glow emanating from her kagune, a singular wing made of a rainbow fire.

It was over in a minute. Kaneki had charged at her but Morie's fingers finally touched him. She gripped his ankle firmly and from the momentum coming to a sudden halt, Kaneki fell onto her body. He clawed and snapped at her neck, her arms, her torso, her face. Each attack sent waves of fear through Morie as she squirmed under his weight. It was dire and her body was slow, burning with piercing pain every time she twisted to avoid his natural weapons.

Kaneki's kagune flailed around wildly, hitting everything in sight in is hungered state. The newcomer to the scene effortlessly danced between them, ducking and weaving as she went. The fire of her weapon crystallised and shards of glass shot from it impaling Kaneki in the back as his teeth met flesh.

Morie yelled in pain but managed to lift a leg and kick him in the stomach sending the boy a few centimetres back. Blood seeped from the bite wound in her r bicep and spilled to the ground as Morie huffed as she attempted to get up but failed due to the effort it took and the aching of her injuries. Her hand did however touch the coolness of her scalpel that had skid closer to her in the scuffle. She grasped it but couldn't do anything more so she laid there, mind flashing with images of her past, of Hide and of the caring Kaneki.

Her eyes found Kaneki and the newcomer. He was pinned down by her, legs either side of his torso preventing him from doing anything but kick his feet and wave his arms. The girl herself let her body relax and dug up her phone a white rabbit charm dangling from it. "Yomo, I need your help. Get yourself to the ally on the fifth street. We have a situation."

The body underneath the she-ghoul wouldn't stop struggling so with a grunt of effort, she balled up a fist and slammed it into Kaneki's head, knocking the boy out.

Morie saw this from the corner of her eye and closed her eyes. "So, is this how it's going to end?" she breathed.

"Not quite." The female ghoul had gotten up from Kaneki, walked over to Morie and bent down to face her. Steely blue eyes looked down on her form with one of them hidden behind raven locks that looked like lavender when the light hit it just right. Her face was round yet sharp at the same time giving it an edge of dangerous beauty in the light of the setting sun. She was all Morie saw before she felt something hit her head and her world faded to black.

Author's Note:

Sukiya （すき家）: Sukiya is a commercial gyudon (牛丼) or beef bowl restaurant in Japan. Gyudon is a traditional Japanese dish which serves up bits of meat, usually beef on rice. Most of the time it also comes with an egg on top. The name Sukiya comes from the Japanese words for like （すき）and house （家）. The main colours of a Sukiya store are yellow and red much like McDonalds.

Colours in marketing: Believe it or not but the colours chosen for business have been specifically chosen to fulfil a purpose. Different colours have different properties to them for example as Kaneki stated, red is associated with rushed decision-making which is why sale signs are normally coloured red. A few other examples include green which is associated with nature and health, black which is associated with authority and strength and yellow which promotes happiness.

Takoyaki (たこ焼き）: Takayaki which literally translates to fried octopus is a Japanese street food made from octopus and a flour-based batter. Due to the way it is made, they look like balls.  
Taiyaki (たい焼き) ：Taiyaki is another Japanese street food and it is one of my favourite foods. Each taiyaki is shaped like a fish using a special pan and I like to think of it as a fancy pancake. Inside each fish is a flavour and the most common one is red bean paste. That being said I have seen other flavours such as custard, caramel, chocolate and apple.


	4. Chapter 4

There was a sound of ruffling around her when her eyes flickered open to reveal a bright room. She had to blink to adjust to the new light and as everything came into focus, she realised she was lying flat on her stomach upon a wooden floor.

"That was quick." It was a familiar voice, feminine yet cold. "We just got you here."

Morie could only groan as the other individual left the room. Everything was trickling back to her through the pain in her ribs, her back, her arms. She instantly shot up when the image of Hide's unconscious body shot into her mind. Her eyes darted around the room taking in shelves stacked with bags of coffee and boxes. Other boxes were pushed against the walls of the room presumably to make room for where she was lying. The window was mostly covered by the blinds but due to the inky blackness between the gaps, Morie knew night time had finally fallen. Upon a mattress situated under the window sill was Hide's slowly breathing body.

She crawled over to his form ignoring the feeling of blood drying and sticking to her clothing and the stabbing feelings telling her to stop moving. Her arms heaved her body upwards to gaze upon his form. His black and sunny yellow jacket had been splattered with flecks of red and wrapped firmly around his head was a bandage slowly blooming a red flower.

"You're alive," she breathed heavily and smiled before fully picking herself up and slinking to the door.

Peering out of its doorframe her eyes fell upon a mismatch of people with serious faces standing in the hallway, talking. There was the girl she first saw when she awoke, a wrinkled man with the pressed clothes of a waiter, a man clad in black with silvery hair framing his frowning face and a woman with long black hair also wearing a uniform. It looked like the woman had only just climbed the stairs to meet everyone.

"Koma is currently minding the café and readying it to be closed," the woman said whilst holding a bundle of white and black clothes clutched to her chest. "Hopefully these will fit the lady you rescued, Touka. How are the others healing?"

It was the old man's turn to speak. His voice was calm, soothing yet it had an air of authority around him. "The young ghoul is still unconscious and will most likely be asleep for another hour or two. I have given him something to eat as well to curb his hunger. Touka, I gather that you have taken care of the other two?"

"About that…" the girl sighed. "The one that was already unconscious has been treated and looks like he will be out for a while but the other one, her bleeding has stopped by itself." Her eyes narrowed in thought but was broken by the gesture of the silver haired man who had raised a hand and pointed directly at Morie.

"Irimi, I judge that you can sort this out?" the eldest man requested.

The waitress nodded her head and calmly walked up to Morie, smiling reassuringly to ease the injured woman's thoughts. "You should lie back down, Miss."

Morie blinked and stepped back into the room. "Who are you people?" she demanded as her body sunk to the floor. Her hands brushed against the coldness of a metallic white box and she hissed as a sharp stab shot up her neck. Morie exhaled heavily as sweat started to bead around her forehead and noticed a bucket filled with water sitting near the box.

"We are the employees of Anteiku and we help those in need. Do you remember what happened to you?" The older woman asked as she directed Morie to lie back down on her stomach exposing the bloodied back of her clothing stuck to her skin. "I'm sorry about this, but I will need to cut your shirt in order to treat your wounds."

Morie felt the coolness of scissor's blades snip at her t-shirt. There would be no saving the Uniqlo shirt after this. As the cutting continued Morie explained that she remembered everything from Hide being kicked to Kaneki going berserk.

"So, you know that your friend is a ghoul."

"I've known since the day I met him which wasn't very long ago, like about a week."

Whilst Irimi worked and as the shirt was neatly cut up the centre, Morie felt the soothing sensation of a damp cloth wiping away the dried blood to free the fabric from the scratches. As the gentle touch of it pressed down upon her shoulder blades, Irimi said, "Are you afraid of him?"

"No, but I can't deny that I thought I was going to die there. That scared me."

"What about Touka, the girl who rescued you?"

"If you are asking if I am afraid of ghouls, the answer is no."

As the last few bits of fabric were moved away, the waitress unhooked Morie's bra and inspect the shrinking wounds with curiosity. With every minute that passed, each cut closed up, knitting itself together with thin threads of muscle until noting remained but slivers of pale pink. To prevent anything from cutting them open again, she applied Band-Aids and disinfectant cream to them. "Your body has some interesting properties. Have you always healed this quickly?"

Morie turned to head to get a better view of Irimi. "What do you mean?" Morie questioned before pausing. "I suppose I do heal quickly when compared to other people though. I always have."

The waitress paused and returned Morie's stare before working on removing the sleave around Morie's right bicep to disinfect the bite that had started to scab up. "It's on par with a ghoul's… You are human, right?"

"As far as I kno-" Morie instantly started lifting her body up much to the surprise of Irimi who had moved back to give the woman some space as she would have needed her to sit up to tread the arm injury. "Food. Do you have any normal food? I will pay for it later." Her head was hung low but her eyes looked up fiercely.

Irimi shifted her arms closer to Morie, close to her arms in a reassuring way. "Just relax. We need to get you cleaned up first."

Morie remained still as Irimi gently removed what dried blood remained before applying padding and taping it down. The waitress' hair tickled her nose as she worked. It was strange, a scent that she had only smelt a few times before when she was first working with a vial of RC cells. She couldn't say it reeked or was pleasant but it certainly smelt unique, a mixture of a metallic tang with hints of something no human could describe.

It then dawned on her.

"This place, Anteiku you called it, you're all ghouls."

The final piece of tape was applied to Morie's skin as Irimi retreated back from Morie to retrieve the clothing she brought in. "Anteiku is a café run by ghouls in the 20th Ward in order to preserve peace. I was hoping the Manager would be able to explain it to you after we treated your injuries and you awoke but you figured it out by yourself. Truthful told, the workers here were going to pretend that the injuries you received were from a car crash."

Morie looked over to Hide's sleeping form, analysing his peaceful face. "A car crash… I think that can work," she pondered before looking back at Irimi. "It's nice here. I suppose Anteiku is responsible for the low amount of ghoul activity in this ward."

"Yes. Now, does anything else hurt?"

Morie glanced down at her stomach. "My ribs I think, but they only feel bruised."

Irimi lifted up the tatters of the shirt and inspected the area. Surely, dark splotches of blue decorated the lower half of Morie's rib cage. Her hands brushed over one of the marks to feel if any of the bones had moved. Morie flinched back as a stabbing pain shot through her body.

"Your ribs don't seem to be broken but there is heavy bruising around the area. Rest will be able to heal it." Irimi shifted the clothing closer to Morie and gestured to it. "These clothes are some of my spare uniforms. They should be able to fit you," she warmly smiled. "I'll see to it that we get you some food. You can come down that stairs once you are ready."

As the waitress left with the medical equipment, Morie peeled off her shirt and held it out in front of her. Truly beyond repair. No longer was navy a majority of colour but instead a dark plum decorated it. From tears and scratches, threads had frayed, weakening the weave and leaving holes in its wake. Then there was the cutting Irimi had done, straight up the middle of the back and around the right sleave. _Just a rag now_, Morie thought to herself as she scrunched it up and placed it beside her. She'd hoped that her pants faired better but due the condition of her shirt, she really doubted that it did; blood was hard to remove once stained after all.

Hooking her bra back together, she started changing into the spare clothing which compiled of a simple white button up shirt, stockings and black skirt. Her sneakers clashed with the outfit but honestly, Morie had never cared much for fashion, viewing it as a waste of time.

With one last glance at Hide, Morie left the room and close the door as quietly as possible. As she edged through the hallway and down the stairs, the sound of arguing met her ears.

"You can't be serious, letting them stay here! That woman will rat us out let alone the other human. What if he remembers too!"

"It is our policy to help others," she heard Irimi say.

Morie peered around the corner to the scene. The black-haired woman was behind a wooden bar counter, cleaning a cup with a drying cloth. Leaning against the opposite side was her rescuer, arms crossed and staring daggers.

"I don't think Hide will remember anything," noted Morie, making her presence known as she rounded the corner and approached the other individuals. "He was knocked out first."

"Whatever," the brooding girl snapped leaning down to Morie who had taken up a stool by the counter. Her eyes burned with intensity. "You shouldn't even be awake yet let alone being here."

Morie greeted her stare with one as equally strong. "I thank you for saving me but right now I feel like I am entitled to be in this café."

"You," she snarled as footsteps echoed around the room.

The elderly man walked made his way down from the stairs, opened his eyes and looked at the teenager. "I think you should follow Koma's footsteps and go home for the night, Touka."

With a "tch" the teenager stomped upstairs and returned a few moments later holding a bag. The door slammed shut as she left the building.

"I must apologise for Touka's behaviour," said the elderly man. "Unfortunately, she has the tendency to be vocal when discussing her opinion on things she dislikes." The man walked behind the counter to stand next to Irimi. He grabbed the cup the waitress had just finished polishing along with a glass pot and filter. "You may call me Yoshimura. I own Anteiku. This is Kaya Irimi." He gestured to the waitress as she nodded her head slightly. "May we know your name?"

"It's Morie, Morie Masuda."

Yoshimura closed his eyes briefly in though before tipping some coffee granules in the filter and slowly manoeuvring steaming water over it in a circular motion. The bitter odour of coffee filled the room and Morie couldn't help but notice how nice it smelt. It was nothing like her cheep coffee she used with her coffee machine. It was deep and rich and extremely inviting.

Her thoughts were interrupted as a plate was slid in front of her by Irimi who then went back to polishing glasses. "The food is on us for the day," she smiled. "We would like feedback on the cake however." With a curt nod to Yoshimura, Irimi wiped down the benchtop and announced her resignation for the day before grabbing her belongings and leaving Anteiku.

Morie directed her attention on the white plate stood a slice of chocolate cake not unlike the one she ate when Hide first came to visit her. Butter cream icing was spread roughly on the icing and a fat strawberry was situated on a piped blob towards the outer edge of the cake.

_Mother_, Morie thought as she picked up the fork that accompanied it and stuck it into the cake before raising it to her mouth. As it touched her tongue, she felt its spongey texture but no flavour accompanied it. It was like eating thin air. Somewhat hastily, Morie took a bite of the strawberry next. Like the cake before it, there was no flavour. _Oh Mother, don't tell me… _Morie once again thought to herself.

Yoshimura finished preparing the coffee and poured it into two separate tea cups and placed one next to Morie's plate. She instantly grabbed the coffee not caring how hot it was and took a sip. The brown liquid travelled down her throat leaving an explosion of bitterness accompanied by a slight acidic undertone.

"I can't taste the cake but I can the coffee." She then paused and looked down. Images of seeing her mother looming over her father's body and those eyes, ruby, onyx and full of tears. Her eyes started to water but she blinked the tears away. It was always a possibility, a possibility that she was at risk, just like her mother. Her eyes darted towards the elderly man. "Do you think it is possible for a person born human to become a ghoul naturally?"

Yoshimura took a sip of his coffee. "It is not something I have thought of," he answered. "What makes you ask that?"

Morie sighed and looked up fighting to hold back tears. "Family history. My mother was born human then she got diagnosed with ROS. She was like a normal patient from what I can remember but one day, she recovered from it. When my father and visited her, she was no longer human."

"I have never heard of something like that occurring before," mentioned Yoshimura.

Morie nodded. "The CCG didn't make it public. They don't really make anything public unless it is a raid. I need to do some tests," she declared before finishing her coffee. "You don't happen to have any of my belongings, do you?"

Yoshimura reached inside of the pocket of his waiter's apron and pulled out two sets of keys and the scalpel. "I assume you mean these."

"Yes." Morie retrieved the items and cradled the scalpel close to her heart. "They would kill me if I lost this."

"Isn't that quinque steel?" the man questioned after taking a sip from his coffee. "How did you get it?"

Morie wasn't sure if she should answer the question, just to avoid stirring any panic within her company but decided too anyway. "I have an agreement with CCG but just because we are on good terms does not mean I support their actions. I research ghouls and share my findings. They help provide me with equipment and materials so I can conduct my said research. Currently, I'm trying to create artificial food."

The duo sat around calculating the information that they had just received when a startling scream resonated throughout the building before being followed by a thud as Kaneki's body hit the floor in shock. Morie instantly flicked her head in the direction of the sound and was about to get up to walk towards her friend but was stopped by Yoshimura.

"I think it is best that you remain downstairs at the moment," he said. "We wouldn't want Kaneki to panic any more than he is now."

Thus, Morie remained sitting at the counter and finished off the last bits of her tasteless cake. Her mind swimming with plans and counter actions on how she might need to adjust her life. When would she need to cannibalise? What would the CCG do to her if they found out? _I'd die, I suppose…_, she mused to herself before letting out a quite laugh.

It was about fifteen minutes before Yoshimura appeared again, this time with a zombie-looking Kaneki trailing behind him, eyes hazy and lazily watching the steps he descended. Once he saw Morie, he froze and looked away, tears welling in his eyes.

Morie got up from her seat and slowly walked towards him. "Kaneki, it's alright. I forgive you. I forgive Shirozumi, so I can forgive you too." She tried to give a comforting smile but it came out wonky, her mind too busy worrying her situation.

"But I-I could have killed both you and Hide." Tears were streaming down his face and his body had started to tremble.

"Sit." Morie ordered and directed him to the stool next to hers at the counter. "We got out alive but you need to not starve yourself."

Yoshimura had started making another cup of coffee for Kaneki. "Young Morie is correct. If this continues than you will not only put your friends in more danger but yourself too." He finished making the coffee then reached behind him to grab a jar of what looked like brown sugar cubes. He picked up two of them used a pair of tongs and plopped them into the coffee. Upon seeing the sobbing Kaneki drink the coffee without any gags or spluttering, Morie gathered that the cubes were more than met the eye and made a mental note to ask about them later.

Morie got up and walked to one of the tables which had chairs stacked up around the edges and grabbed a handful of napkins. She brought them to Kaneki who then immediately reached for one and blew his nose.

Once Kaneki had calmed down, Yoshimura cleared his throat. "Kaneki, Miss Masuda why don't you come work here for a while? We can show you how we ghouls live our lives."

Morie was the first to speak. "I don't think I can work right now as I still have to write reports for the CCG but if I can do you mind if I work here? I will be happy to help out where I can however."

After thinking about the offer, Kaneki eventually agreed to the proposition.

It was nearly nine o'clock when Morie decided to go home although she doubted that she would be able to get a good night's sleep. She wanted to return home, boot up her computer and write notes, notes and plans on her course of action for the foreseeable future. Furthermore, there was an Excel table that needed adding to. So, she excused herself from the café and received directions from Yoshimura to find her way home.

Although she wanted to remain until Hide awoke too, she knew both he and Kaneki were in good hands.

There was beauty in the night around her from the lights that streaked passed her to the noises of various activities echoing throughout the vicinity. And for the second time in her life, she breathed in the city air appreciating every sight, touch, smell and noise that belonged to this small piece of the world. Life was flawed, unfair and tragic but in this moment Morie felt alive.


	5. Chapter 5

**Author's Note:**

**Hi everyone~**

**Sorry for an extremely short chapter. To be honest I felt that this was a chapter that needed to be written and I felt that it was more power with the way I ended rather than trying to extend it out. I can promise that chapters in the future will be longer with the occasional chapter being short like this one.**

**Trust me. I have plans. Many plans…**

**By the way, as of writing this chapter I am dedicating myself to write at least 600 words per day meaning that it will take about a week to write one chapter. That being said I have been tending to write a bit more than 600 words per day -_-'**

Morie hadn't gotten a wink of sleep that night. The only company she kept was the blue light emanating from her computer and her wandering thoughts. Due to the coffee she drank at Anteiku and her active mind, her eyes remained wide open and refused to droop with tiredness.

When the morning light shone through her window, she stretched and tidied up her desk which had been littered with scraps of paper and trash from midnight snacks she ate just to see if her sense of taste had returned, which it hadn't. She had work to do today and nothing could keep her from that even if her body was still a bit sore from the previous day's events. Morie didn't want to be hanging around the campus for too long anyway to avoid any unwanted attention.

Before she left, Morie opened a draw and retrieved a pair of aviator sunglasses. Even though it was the middle of spring and still early enough that the sun was still hidden behind morning clouds, with a flick of her wrist, she wore the glasses. The thought occurred to her last night when she took a break in order to bathe that wearing the sunglasses may be a good idea until she knew exactly what was going on with her body. If a kakugan manifested itself at an inconvenient time, then it would be her death sentence. At least Kaneki knew which eye turned ghoulish.

Upon arriving at Kamii, Morie slunk around the campus, avoiding any of the people who were heading to their early morning lectures and crept into Nishiki's office space to retrieve her belongings and Shirozumi who gazed at her in curiosity. Picking up her belongings, Morie looked at the quiet room. Nothing had changed since yesterday which was to be expected but it felt empty. Maybe it felt that way because the window was left a crack open so wind gently rustled the fabric blinds or maybe it was due to the lack of noise in the general area. But if Morie was honest to herself, she knew why it felt so lonely. Although not friends, she still valued Nishiki and knowing that he attacked her purposefully with the intent to kill, left her heart hollow. She left the room leaving her feelings behind in the locked room knowing that she had better things to do then wallow in her emotions.

She walked down the long hallway until she reached a set of doors that lead to a room full of machinery for the pharmaceutical students. Equipment ranged from microscopes that Morie had access to in her lab space but it also contained tablet presses and heart monitors. The storeroom itself was located in the very back past rows of pristine workbenches and shelving. Using the keys Nishiki gave her yesterday, Morie opened the door to the storeroom and grabbed out an empty blood bag, a few syringes, plastic pipes and an adapter to connect a needle to the plastic pipes then promptly wandered to the biology department.

Eventually she wandered to her lab space which was located in the furthest corner of the actual biology lab. Compared to the other workspaces hers was much bigger and contained a select number of special equipment which were given to her by her sponsors. Amongst the things given to her included a set of dissection tools made of quinque steel and a small fridge that sat under the metal bench which was used to store samples of kakuhou, splintered kagune and a few grams of samples taken from ghouls the CCG had disposed of.

Morie couldn't lie, the CCG were kind to her once upon a time but now they turned down her requests so she was running low on supplies which was why her first course of action after placing Shirozumi and her backpack down was fishing around for a needle she could use. Upon connecting it to the adapter, pipe and then blood bag, she felt around her left arm for a vein then stuck the needle in not caring for constricting her arm to help with the flow of blood. There would be time for that as she waited for results.

Using one of her feet, she dragged a small stool that was standing underneath the bench to sit on as her blood slowly begun filling the bag. She then sat on it after retrieving her notebook from her bag with her free arm. Flicking it to the bookmarked page, she gazed at her notes.

_August 29__th__ 1991: RC level- 201_

_July 18__th__ 1996: RC level- 272_

_July 17__th__ 2001: RC level- 404_

_September 9__th__ 2004: RC level- 689_

Even when she was younger, her RC levels were above average and were high enough that doctors considered her at risk of ROS just like her mother. Nothing came of it though. No strange tumours appeared neither did the nausea or pain associated with it. It was a conundrum that puzzled herself and her doctors which she had to visit yearly after she turned twelve. Because of her doctor's appointments, Morie had a record of her RC count over the years and it each year it increased to dangerous levels.

Last year, when she had to go through an RC gate, the alarm sounded that there was a ghoul on CCG property. She remembered as panic swept through the building as employees grabbed their weapons and civilians were evacuated. It was only when an investigator who recognised her from the academy saw her and called off the defence, that Morie was freed from the situation and taken immediately to a certified CCG doctor who took her samples. Since then she was given special papers from the doctor so that CCG officers could turn off the gates when she entered.

_April 26__th__ 2010: RC level- 1026_

She skimmed through the other entries on her list then placed a pen inside the page to hold it open as she reached for a small machine no bigger than her palm and another needle. Morie poked the needle into the tip of one of her fingers and dropped a drip of blood onto the paper attached to the machine. After pressing a button, the machine flashed a number on the screen. Morie then sucked the blood off her finger before grabbing her pen and writing:

_October 12__th__ 2011: RC level- 1255_

It was a wild increase from the previous years. Usually, it took around five years for her RC count to increase by 200.

She still had more she needed to do.

Grabbing a swab, she opened her mouth and wiped the inside of it. Once done she pulled out a slide and wiped the swab onto it transferring anything it picked up onto the slide and placed it under her microscope. She wouldn't be able to look at it right at that time due to one of her arms still being attached to the blood bag.

Morie waited a few more minutes before removing the needle from her arm and pressed firmly on the wound it created with a tissue until she was sure that blood wouldn't spill everywhere. The blood itself would need to be dried so Morie grabbed out a large metallic pan and let blood slowly drip into it from the bag. It would require at least a day before she could compress it into tablets for her mouse and to be honest, she really don't want to be using her blood to feed anything for extended periods of time.

Once done she removed her sunglasses, scooted over to the microscope and adjusted it to focus on the micro-organisms on the slide. Strange strands of squiggles made themselves clear as Morie adjusted the dials. These squiggles were enzymes Morie knew well. Earlier in her life she had dissected a tongue of a recently slaughtered ghoul and analysed parts of it under the same microscope. She looked at the tissue and structure in addition to the enzyme that ghouls produce which makes human food indigestible for them. Right now, right in front of her eye was that same enzyme but it was mixed in with the usual flecks of saliva cells, cheek cells and white blood cells. The ratio of the enzyme lower compared to that of the ghoul tongue she analysed making it possible for her to still eat human food. Morie hypothesised that the low amounts of it was the reason she couldn't taste any food.

Shirozumi squeaked angrily besides her, banging on the sturdy walls of the enclosure. Its white fur bristled before its eyes flashed red. Tiny yet sharp claws scratched creating a screeching sound like nails on a chalkboard.

"Yeah. Yeah," growled Morie, covering her ears. "Will you be quiet for A MINUTE!"

The noise was getting unbearable as the mouse frenzied and Morie couldn't take it anymore, not just because of the sound was irritating and hurt to listen to but because images of Kaneki flooded her head. His singular kakugan glinting in the alleyway as his figure pinned her down. Her experiment was just like him, staved.

Morie glanced down at her hand, opening and closing her palms, contemplating. With one more bag, Morie quickly opened the lid and dangled her right hand inside. She bit her lip expecting herself to scream out in pain as the mouse walked over and bit into the tips of her fingers. Blood tricked down leaving a splotch of red where her fingers hovered and a mouse whose oozed psychopathic murder.

Once the mouse had its fill Morie was left there panting, huffing to avoid her mind drifting to the slick sensation of blood and pain. Grabbing a fistful of paper towel, Morie lifted her hand out of the cage and pressed the paper against the wounds. More pain accompanied her with that action and Morie met it by continuing to heavily breathe.

When she lifted the paper off her hand to check the injuries, her eyes bulged slight of stings stitching themselves together around the white of her exposed distal phalanges. Red still oozed from the tips but was slowly halting before her eyes until her fingers had completely mended. All that was left was the blood that had leaked.

"Holy crap," she laughed as she hunched her form over the workbench. She creeped her hands closer to her face until they gripped her face. Eyes watery, she held them there giving a wonky smile.

_So, this is what happened to you, wasn't it Mother?_

**Author's Note:**

**Distal phalanges: This is the name of the group of bones that make up the tips of fingers and toes. As you can probably gather each person has twenty of these small bones, one on each finger, thumb and toe. **

**In the future you will probably see more bone definitions as I will be covering events leading up to a certain famous scene in the manga. :D**


	6. Chapter 6

**Author's Note:**

**So originally, I was gonna describe the meaning behind Morie's name and I still have done that but it's changed slightly from how I originally spelt it. The original spelling of the Morie part of her name was ****萌里恵****. That has since been changed to ****守恵 ****because I felt that it would better suit her during later points in the story. Morie is spelt with the kanji for protection (****守****) and the kanji for wisdom/blessing (****恵****). Her last name Masuda comes from the kanji for wealth/benefit/profit (****益****) and the kanji for rice field (****田****). From what I have seen Masuda is also a common Japanese surname but it can be spelt in a few different ways. So, if we were to write her name out in the traditional Japanese order with last name first it would be ****益田 守恵****.**

**Things have started to ramp up for me with the school year coming to an end and final exams. That being said I still intend to write everyday it just might not be a page a day. **

**Also, I would like to say hello to my first follower~ :3**

Morie found herself frequently visiting Anteiku whenever she got out of university lectures. She'd cart her papers and laptop with her on the way there and set up inside the café at a table for two towards the back.

Not many customers payed attention to her but she payed attention to them through the lenses of her sunglasses, analysing and identifying which were ghouls and which were humans. It turned into a strange game of sorts for her whenever she got bored of writing documents. Through doing this she saw a plethora of fascinating individuals. There were those who came into the café on a whim probably because they got hungry or tired from walking down the streets and humans who were dressed in hipster fashion who found the place and declared the coffee and food were "to die for". Then there were the ones she knew to avoid in the future.

"Morie! Hey, Morie." Hide's voice berated her eardrums as he slapped his hand on the table.

She looked up at him from behind her screen. "Yes?"

He smiled at her. "We should get Kaneki over here with us."

"He's working, Hide," Morie sighed as she went back to typing.

Her friend had also started visiting Anteiku after they got rescued mainly to stalk Kaneki in the way all best friends did. Morie really didn't know what to feel about the situation as having him there posed risky threat. If Hide was found dead the next day, she didn't know what Kaneki would do. Furthermore, Morie knew how crafty the kid was and she slightly feared what he could do with all the information he had gathered just lounging about in the ghoul infested café.

When she brought her attention back to Hide, he'd already called Kaneki dressed in a waiter's uniform over to the table. Although Kaneki was smiling his visible eye was gazing at him in disapproval. "I've told you; this is one of Touka's tables. You can't call me over here to service you. Besides, I though you wanted Touka to make your drinks."

"Aww but please~" Hide pleaded, clasping his hands together as if in prayer. "You've been so busy with uni and at Anteiku and I can't help but feel like everything is taking you away from me."

Kaneki's eye drifted to Morie who had closed her laptop screen and rested her chin in the palm of her hands. Noticing his stare, Morie shrugged her shoulders. She knew what made Kaneki very busy and to bluntly put it, she mentally called it Ghoul Training. Often, she wondered if she should request to join whenever she saw him get called by the Manager late at night.

Kaneki's gaze softened after hearing Hide's reply. "Look, I promise that once I get some free time, we can do something together. Now, did you want to order something?"

"One coffee, black as can be!" Hide announced whilst raising his hand into the air. Bringing it back down he rested it back on the table. "Oh, and this one's for Morie, not me."

"You know your wallet is going to suffer if you keep ordering. Eventually you won't be able to buy that CD you've been wanting to get for a while now."

"Yeah, yeah." Hide gave two quick claps. "A beverage now if you please," he jested as Kaneki jotted down the order.

Morie turned her head and watched as Kaneki casually walked away from the table and behind the counter. Nothing appeared to be stressing the boy out and Morie was glad knowing that he had a place where he could relax that wasn't around Hide.

She turned her head back towards Hide. "Are you trying to get me to be your girlfriend?"

"What? No." He waved a hand. "You're not my type anyway. You're too serious and always walk around with an expression saying 'I'm dying on the inside' or something. Speaking of which, those shades of yours is making it harder to read your expression lately and they don't even suit you. What's up with that?"

Knowing that the vague answers she usually gave only intrigued the man more, with a sigh she pulled her sunglasses down to the tip of her nose revealing her eyes. She stared him directly into his before picking up the notebook next to her, flipped to the page where she had recorded her RC count and handed it to Hide. "You're a smart person, Hide, so I don't doubt that you will figure it out eventually."

His mouth hung open and his eyes bulged reading the notes. "You should be in a hospital!" He flicked through more pages reading the notes Morie had scrawled down including detailed labelled sketches of RC cells and the enzymes that prevent ghouls from eating human food which had been based off the samples she received from herself.

At Hide's comment Morie pushed her sunglasses back up and leaned back. "It's been monitored since I was nine and other than the high count, I am medically sound."

She reached out for her notebook and received it back just as Touka arrived holding a cup of black coffee. Plastered to her face was a fake smile that she easily passed off as being real due to spending so much time with humans. Morie knew differently though. Upon revisiting Anteiku for the first time after the rescue, Touka dragged Morie and Kaneki aside. Her kakugan activated and she cocked her head to the side menacingly, threatening to tear Hide limb from limb if he ever found out that the people at Anteiku were ghouls. Morie hated her for that knowing full well that with every day Hide wanted to see Kaneki that his life would be at risk. Adding to the problem was Hide's sharp deduction skills that allowed him to pick up subtle gestures in other individuals. Going with the car crash story seemed like the best option to keep Hide safe even though Morie had come to the conclusion that Hide had already figured out what had happened.

Morie gingerly sipped her coffee as its taste flooded her sense, thankful that she could at least properly taste at least one drink properly. Cleaning out her pantry, fridge and tiny freezer had been dragging on her and coffee was the only solace she had left unless she wanted to be tasting air for the foreseeable future.

It was when night time had just began to fall over Tokyo that Hide decided to retire for the day and head back home. Morie had decided to remain behind when the Manager called her upstairs into the meeting room thus, she shoved her gear into her backpack and marched up the stairs.

Although she had been asked to retrieve different bags of coffee from the storage room which also happened to be the same room where she came into consciousness after being rescued, this was the first time she actually stepped foot into the meeting room. Sitting on the green couch sipping coffee from a fine china cup was Yoshimura who motioned for both Kaneki and Morie to sit across from him on another couch.

Once everyone had made themselves comfortable, Yoshimura placed his cup down on the wooden table in front of him and began to speak in a serious tone. "I think it is time that we organise a mask for the two of you."

"A mask?" Kaneki questioned whilst slightly tipping his head to one side before leaning back with a face of dazed confusion as he pictured himself wearing a face mask like so many rushing people do in Japan.

Morie on the other hand smiled knowing full well where this was going. She turned to Kaneki. "Correct me if I am wrong Manager but as far as I know most ghouls wear ones when they are partaking in ghoulish activities like hunting."

Yoshimura nodded in agreement as Morie continued her explanation to an increasingly paling Kaneki.

"Masks help hide identities so if you are ever caught, your face won't be known. It causes the CCG so many issues as it makes it harder for them to complete their tasks. But for those who need to hide it can act as a perfect disguise."

"Oh, so it's a safety thing," Kaneki said as his completion started returning back to its normal state. "I understand why I might need one but why does Morie need one now as well?"

"Do you know what the punishment for someone who assists ghouls is, Kaneki?" Yoshimura asked him, frowning.

Morie's expression turned sour as she took off her glasses revealing stern brown eyes. "Article 88 of Ghoul Countermeasures Law: Person's harbouring or otherwise preventing the arrest of a ghoul will be severely punished," she spat. "I have seen reports of people who have aided ghouls and they have received a life time in prison. Article 119 further elaborates on this sever punishment by stating 'human involvement in harbouring or preventing the arrest of a ghoul will result in an offence punishable by the death penalty."

Kaneki remained silent and looked down at the floor but ended up asking, "Then why do you remain here?"

"It's simple to me I suppose but I do it for a few reasons," she stated leaning back on the couch. "Firstly, to screw with the prideful CCG who think themselves better than that of a group of living beings that they could be helping. Secondly, because I believe that the CCG should be gaining more information from live sources that aren't locked away in ghoul prison. Thirdly, because of my situation. It is better for me to learn now because if I don't, I will be tossed into their world suddenly like you Kaneki." She then turned to the boy and gave a closed lip smile.

"Oh" was Kaneki's only reply as he focused his attention back on the old man.

Yoshimura cleared his throat to bring the conversation back to himself. "Regarding the masks, I also have made plans for you two to assist Yomo in gather food for our clients." Seeing Kaneki begin to worry about the concept of gathering food for ghouls, the Manager further clarified by saying, "During this process, I promise that you will not bring harm to anyone."

The door to the room opened as Touka stepped inside, stretched her arms and yawned. She eyed everyone in the room before stopping briefly on Morie. At the sight of the brunette she sneered and was about to turn her back but stopped when she heard Yoshimura's voice.

"Ah, Touka, just the person I needed. Tomorrow I would like you to escort Kaneki and Miss Masuda so that they can receive their masks."

Touka flinched with exasperation. "B-but tomorrow's my day off a-"

The girl was cut off by one of Yoshimura's stares. "I have heard from Yomo that two 'police investigators are in our ward."

Hearing this Touka's eyes widened as Morie pondered if she would know the two investigators if she saw them.

With a sigh Touka focused her attention on Kaneki and Morie. Her eyes darkened menacingly. "Tomrrow, 4:30. Shinjuku Station. East entrance… If you're late, I'll kill the two of you."

At this comment Kaneki inched further into the back of the couch and held his hands up in surrender as Touka slammed the door on the way out. Morie on the other hand causally balanced her sunglasses back on her nose not caring for the fierce girl's comment. Her mind filled with ideas of what her possible mask could be.

Morie arrived outside of east gates promptly at exactly 4:28 pm and saw Kaneki dressed in a simple shirt and blue jacket leaning against one of the polls with a book in his hand. As Morie walked up to him, he shifted his head in acknowledgement.

"Good afternoon," Morie greeted as Kaneki place his small book into a pocket of his jacket. "No sign of Touka, I assume?"

"I haven't heard from her yet."

With a sigh, Morie leaned next to the boy and fiddled with her sunglasses. If she was being honest, they made her stand out and Hide was right, they did not suit her at all. She just happened to buy them on one particular day to block out the pesky sun that had decided to burn her retinas and the overly large aviators were the only ones stocked in the convenience store she visited. Thinking that her appearance would draw more attention to herself as they wandered to wherever Touka would be taking them, Morie removed them and mentally pleaded that her eyes wouldn't drastically change.

Whilst waiting for Touka the two of them engaged in a causal conversation before Morie offered to get the two of them some coffee from a nearby vending machine to kill time as she doubted Touka really cared to be on time. Kaneki agreed and offered to give her some loose change he had on hand to pay for the drink but Morie declined stating that she could spare spending 130 yen for his drink as she knew she would be getting paid soon from the CCG for her research papers.

As Morie walked to the vending machine and inserted the coins her mind wandered to the mentioning of two investigators who would be patrolling the 20th ward. She gathered that in the coming days she would be able to discover who they were and if she knew about them, she would warn the people of Anteiku about their prowess. Due to the relative peacefulness of the 20th Ward Morie guessed that the two investigators would be a rookie who had just graduated from the Academy and an accompanying investigator with experience in the field. Although she had no idea who the rookie could be if there was one, two individuals came to her mind when she thought of experienced investigators who moved from ward to ward; Kureo Mado and Yukinori Shinohara. And she hoped to god that it wasn't Kureo Mado.

Due to her fascination with inspecting the organs of ghouls, when Morie was still trapped in the Academy he had seen her and thought that she too loved the idea of making quinques from the kakuhou of deceased ghouls. The way he looked at her with his bulging eyes and a grin far too wide for a sane person made Morie compare him to a slug, slimy and disgusting. That being said, she'd heard rumours of his daughter in the class above hers and apparently the famed intuition and technical skill ran through the Mado family.

As the coffee dropped into the holding area at the bottom of the machine, Morie returned to thinking about the matter at hand, Touka's lack of appearance. On the way back to Kaneki she found the boy kneeling on the ground as Touka casually stood behind him. Morie, with a sigh turned around and headed back to the vending machine to buy another can of coffee for the newcomer.

When she arrived back at the pole, Kaneki had picked himself back up and was nervously talking to Touka who wore a neutral face.

"Here," Morie said as she held out a can to each of them whilst clutching her own one jammed between her rib cage and one of her arms. Kaneki reached for his and quietly thanked Morie. Touka on the other hand simply grabbed hers, opened it and started walking away from the station.

Fumbling with the can's tab and trying to run after Touka was not working for Kaneki but after nearly tripping he managed to get his footing. Morie stayed by his side, keeping track of the girl's movements so that they would be able to catch up. Once Kaneki stood upright again, the two of them started to job towards Touka.

They began winding their ways through the busier streets of the 4th Ward but soon the civilians around them started thinning out one by one. Dim street lamps dusty store fronts passed by them until Touka walked down a set of splintering wooden stairs and into an alleyway littered with graffiti. She stopped at a small wooden door with a sign flipped to open on it. Surrounding the sign included a pair of oil barrels painted with floral designs, a swinging Mediterranean lantern and a few A-frames. What caught Morie's attention the most was the labelling of the store, a large street art painting of the words HySy ArtMask Studio covering a black sun. Although in a dim alley, the store itself looked flashy.

Walking up to the door Touka grasped the satanic looking brass knocker and tapped it twice before she swung the door open. Inside was decorated with a black and white checkered floor that hurt Morie's eyes if she looked at it for too long. Hanging from the grey walls were masks of every shape and every size imaginable from clown to kabuki to insectoid. The glass cases were no different as they too displayed the handcrafted masks.

What caught Kaneki's seemed to be a cream cloth draped over a mannequin. He walked up to it and raised a hand to touch the fabric just before Morie was about to state the he shouldn't touch things without permission. Kaneki received his reward when the cloth suddenly dropped and he fell butt first onto the tilled ground in fright. Looming over the face of the startled Kaneki was a tattooed man gazing at him with curious eyes coloured red and black.

"Uta, you shouldn't scare customers," sighed Touka as Kaneki got up off the floor clearly afraid yet trying his best to be polite. Morie didn't blame him with tattoos like that. The ghoul in front of her could easily pass off as being a member of the yakuza.

Taking more interest in Kaneki than in Morie, he sat on a stool and inched it towards Kaneki. He cocked his head to one side before his intense eyes focused on the boy's face. "You have an interesting scent, like a female ghoul and a human. That being said…" Turning his face the ghoul then looked at Morie. "Another interesting scent comes from you as well. More human than ghoul yet it is still present. I'm curious. Which one are you?"

Morie shrugged at the comment and didn't answer it whilst Kaneki continued fight his urges to pass out from fright.

"You're scaring him again," Touka once again sighed.

"Oh, sorry. Now, masks was it?" Uta patted another stool next to him. "Who wants to be first?"

With his nervousness, Morie couldn't see Kaneki volunteering to be first so she promptly sat down with her hands in her lap and back hunched over from bad posture. She didn't know what to expect yet her heart was beating more rapidly at the thought of receiving a mask, a disguise utilised by ghouls. It was like a fan seeing their favourite thing yet she internalised her glee.

A hand clasped her cheeks and pushed her head side to side as Uta inspected her facial structures. "Do you have any allergies? Rubber, leather, metals, ectara?"

"Not that I'm aware of."

"What about mask shape? Full? Half?"

She felt the squeeze of a tape measure wrap around her head. "Full," she said without a second thought. When Morie was brainstorming she knew she had two certain features in mind for a final design and one of them was for the mask to be full even if she thought that it may be inconvenient in the heat of ambushing. Then an idea came to her. "Is it possible to make it a hybrid? A full mask that can become a half mask? Also, would it be possible to add a voice changer?"

The constriction of the tape measure stopped and Uta's face appeared sideways to Morie. "Oh, what a fascinating idea," he mused. "Any reason in particular for the voice changer?"

Morie narrowed her eyes. "I have doves who know me on a personal level."

"Impressive and if you don't mind me asking, how do you know them? Perhaps you are an academy student? If that is the case why hang around us ghouls?"

"The Academy can go to hell," Morie sneered as Uta pulled out a ruler and started measuring her nose. "All they do is brainwash children there. It feeds into a cycle of hate and if someone doesn't do something then both humans and ghouls will eradicate each other. Through research I will observe how to break the cycle and your help is greatly appreciated." Morie shifted her head so she could gaze directly into the mask maker's captivating eyes and she gave a sly smile.

Uta with his stoically placed the ruler besides him and grabbed a sketchbook and pencil. He paused briefly and looked back up at Morie. "If you are interested, I could show you a place where one can see a show of 'cannibalism' if they are lucky."

"That would be fascinating to see. Afterall, it is for science and the greater good."

At the mention of cannibalism Kaneki took a step back and lightened slightly in colour. He had nearly forgotten about how Morie took interest in questionable activities such as animal experimentation and now she seemed fascinated by the thought of witnessing ghouls tear each other apart.

Uta sketched a few lines and wrote a few notes whilst looking at Morie there were still some things he needed to ask in order to get a better view of Morie's personality. So, he simply questioned her.

"Favourite colour?"

"Burgundy."

"Any lovers?"

"No, and I have no intention of finding one currently."

"Do you like animals? If so what species?"

"Frogs, mice, rabbits. They are interesting to investigate. Although I have only examined the bodies of frogs and mice as of yet."

"Interesting." With a crisp snap, Uta closed the sketchbook and concluded the measuring.

Morie stood up from the stool and started inspecting the masks around the store as Kaneki took the seat, still disturbed by Morie's answers.

As Kaneki got measured and questioned, Morie noticed how each of the masks displayed had their own flair from their shape and colours to the overall themes expressed in each and every one of them. A lot of them looked gritty and dark with the leather stretched along their frames and others looked metallic. A small handful of them had embroidery delicately stitched on them. Just viewing them made Morie see how these beautiful masks could be a lifeline to many ghouls and for that moment she appreciated the artistry put into them. No longer would she view a mask of dove's victim's the same way.

She was snapped out of her thoughts when Touka appeared by her side along with a curious Kaneki. Morie gathered that his conversation with the mask maker piqued his interest with the way words were woven and discussed.

"Let's go," urged Touka pushing slightly on Morie's back. "Uta will send them to Anteiku once he's finished making them, so move. I don't want to waste any more time than I've already wasted."

Morie narrowed her eyes but turned back to the strange mask artisan. "Thank you." She turned away from him and followed her companions out the door and back into the busy streets of Shinjuku.

"A curious duo," mused Uta to himself. He'd tilted his head and began looking at the ideas he had sketched, a black leather mask with an eyepatch and the silhouette of a bird's head. "A curious duo indeed."

**Author's Note:**

**So, I have created a Google document that people can look at if they are interested in seeing drawings of Morie that I have drawn. These drawings range from sketches to full pencil and Copic marker illustrations. Just be aware that I will post them in chronological order of events that happen in the series so original Tokyo Ghoul Morie will be first and re: Morie will be last. That being said be careful as you scroll as you could end up seeing spoilers for future events. If I do any new drawings, I will also update the document and will say if a new image has been posted when I post chapters.**

**Link - Just type (without spaces) https / docs. google ****document/d/1KQpUE8eX_fcEt3pgsBj6UQ3L9eKExyo4rPz5O4ZgJa8/edit?usp=sharing**

**Onto fun info about Japan~**

**Japanese Vending Machines Part 2: So, in this chapter I mentioned that coffee from a Japanese vending machine cost 130 yen. This is about the price for all type of drinks in a vending machine. Fun fact, whilst I was looking at vending machines, I found some themed ones like pokemon themed and Persona 5 themed vending machenes.**

**Sharing an umbrella: So, I feel like back in chapter 1 I mentioned Morie offering to share an umbrella with Hide. This came up again in chapter 2 when Hide was joking with Morie about sharing an umbrella. The act of a man and woman sharing an umbrella in Japan is seen as a symbol of love and it is known as ai-ai-gasa (****愛愛傘****). The kanji for love is ****愛****and the kanji for umbrella is ****傘 ****so the act of sharing an umbrella literally translates to love love umbrella. This is such as big thing in Japan that their version of a heart with names calved in it is a drawing of an umbrella with two names either side of the handle.**


	7. Chapter 7

**Author's Note:**

**Hello everyone! I know it's being awhile but life has been kinda sucky with exams and uni and fires (I live in Australia) and now the world going into quarantine. JOY! But in all seriousness, I come back to you all now.**

**I would like to thank all that have favorited and followed this story and I would expessially love to thank bbymoji and XxAwkwardAlienxX for their reviews. For some weird reason I wasn't getting emails from for a bit so I only saw them about a week ago.**

**Onto the story~**

Morie found herself staring out of a tinted car window down at the forest of trees bellow. Even though time was heading into the late hours of the night, their silhouettes still intrigued her. It wasn't often that Morie was able to leave the city of Tokyo.

Next to her sat Kaneki who was looking down at his smooth hands. He had told her that earlier that day the woman who exited Nishiki's room visited him and Hide to deliver the CD. She'd inquired if they knew which hospital the ghoul had been sent into. Morie guessed that the boy was still thinking about their encounter with him and after he mentioned it to her, neither could she.

They were on their way to assist Yomo in collecting food for some of Anteiku's ghoul customers. Said silver-haired person was driving the black vehicle along a narrow cliffside road.

When Yomo spied a white car, he pulled to the side and parked the car. He opened the car door and silently stepped out. Both of his passengers followed him out and closed the doors behind him.

Kaneki immediately started looking around and inspecting his surroundings which consisted of a road, rocky cliffside and forest below them. A smile appeared on his face as his nose picked up a sweet smell coming from the shadowy trees. Taken over by excitement, he eagerly made his way over to the railings not accounting for the heavy amount of rusting covering the metal. Noticing Kaneki's action's Yomo turned his head and said, "That part's broken" just as Kaneki began his descent with a screech of panic.

Morie also started to panic seeing her friend suddenly slip off the cliff and ran over to the gaping gap in the rails. She fell to her knees and leaned forward. "Alas I did not know you well, but you were a good friend…" Morie mumbled closing her eyes in remembrance not noticing Kaneki managing to slow his fall by grabbing a rock on the side of the cliff.

Yomo tapped her on the shoulder and Morie snapped her head up. Her nose twitched and her eyes darted around until she found a speck of tan standing in a small clearing. That being said, because it was so dark she wasn't sure if her eyes were playing tricks on her but due to Yomo's lack of concern, she though it was a sign that Kaneki was still alive.

After Morie picked herself off the ground, Yomo turned around and directed her to climb onto his back. Awkwardly she placed her hands on his sturdy shoulders and wrapper legs around his waist. The man was talker than her by around twenty centimetres but Morie still couldn't shake the strangeness of the situation. She didn't have long to think about it before the man jumped off the cliff and landed near where Kaneki was standing. Morie's grip had tightened as air rushed past her face and tangled her hair so when it was time to get off of the man's back, her arms and legs just wouldn't move until a few more seconds had passed.

As soon has her sneakers touched the dirt, her eyes darted, scanning every inch of the forest for Kaneki. It was only when she found him kneeling down underneath a tree, gripping tightly at long blades of grass that the sickly-sweet scent of a corpse made it to her nose. The twisted, mangled limbs of a man lay on the ground next to him.

Morie slowly walked over to Kaneki and examined the body the boy was trying so hard not to look at. "I see," she pondered out loud as she pieced together how Anteiku got their food. A smile creeped onto her lips and an idea formed in her mind. Now if she could only convince the CCG to take her idea seriously.

Taking out her scalpel, she knelt down next to him. "Yomo said you were to hold the lantern. Leave the disembowelment to me and him," she told Kaneki who proceeded to slowly rise and scramble towards the lantern he dropped earlier.

Once he retrieved it, Kaneki pointed it at the corpse as Morie spun around her scalpel ready to dig it into the decaying flesh. She was halted however by Yomo who placed a hand on her shoulder and pulled her back, away from the body. He knelt down beside it and clasped his hands together. Morie squinted her eyes in confusion before hearing the soft mumbling drifting from his pursed lips. It was a simple prayer. Hearing it, she let the scalpel drop from her grasp as she examined the corpse. At that moment the dead body felt almost alive. Sure, the flesh was beginning to decay but the corpse, a man's, was still clothed in a suit and tie with his hands resting by his sides. He looked at peace. Kaneki noticed the little things too like the thickness of his hair and the length of the man's nails. The ground was this man's casket and the dark grass underneath him served as his funeral flowers.

Yomo finished his prayer, stretched an arm out to Morie and silently asked for her scalpel. She complied and handed the tool over. The man grabbed an arm and shifted it so it lay on one of his legs. With a sickening crunch the arm's humerus was snapped in half. Using the scalpel, Yomo cut the skin and muscle around the break with caution and care. Once he was done, he handed the blooded blade back to Morie. "Cutting is your task."

He threw a folded black bag towards Kaneki. The boy in question felt the impact of it on his torso as he did not see the object being thrown. As soon as Yomo had snapped the bone, Kaneki turned his head to look the other way. Placing the lantern on the ground, Kaneki fumbled around for the bag and unfolded it.

"Your job, Kaneki, is to place the parts inside the back in addition to holding the lantern." Another snap was heard and Morie soon began to cut away at the body. Occasionally, Yomo directed her to cut an area where the bone was already broken. With the severed limbs, Morie moved them to the side where Kaneki squeamishly picked them up and placed them into the bag. As well as breaking bones for Morie, Yomo grabbed organs and also placed them into the back.

When the body was fully packaged away Yomo leapt from the ground back to the car with the bag slung under one of his arms. As Morie and Kaneki watched him disappear Morie began to speak whilst wiping her bloodied hands on a fallen leaf. "You know nearly 800,000 people commit suicide every year. If a body can sustain a single ghoul for one to two months then that means that if all the bodies were collected the roughly 45,000 ghouls would no have to hunt live humans. It makes me think why the CCG doesn't listen to me and my ideas somewhere. Thousands of lives could be saved."

Kaneki's eyes started to water and only stopped when Yomo returned with two bottles of water and a handtowel. He gave a bottle Morie and Kaneki. "Clean your hands with this."

Morie tossed the leaf away and began to slowly tip the water into her hands letting the liquid clean her hands of red. She dried her hands on the handtowel before passing it to Kaneki who followed suit.

Once both of their hands were clean Yomo carried each individual back to the car as both Morie and Kaneki lacked the ability to scale the cliff by themselves. When they arrived, they got back inside the slick car and continued down the road, monitoring for any signs of suicide victims. For the most part the trip was spent in silence.

Upon exiting the mountainous road, Yomo directed the car to return to Tokyo choosing to drive through the outskirts of the city. As the streetlights shone by the driver spied a woman walking down the street and decelerated the car. "Stay here," he simply stated as the car came to a rolling stop.

A few moments later Morie and Kaneki got their first look of the woman. Yomo had exited the car and briefly talked with her before directing her to the car. Her round face shone with the warm eyes not unlike those of a doe and her brown hair was tied in a low ponytail resting upon a shoulder. This woman was introduced as Ryouko Fueguchi.

With a curt nod she entered the front of the car along with Yomo who began to drive again.

A warm voice met the ears of Morie and Kaneki as Ryouko smiled. "I'm surprised Yomo. You usually do this is Touka."

Yomo shifted gears. "Touka took the day off today so these two are her replacement for tonight."

"It is lovely that both of you are assisting. I know how hard it can be so I thank you from the very bottom of my heart."

Both Morie and Kaneki opened their mouths to speak but Morie shut hers quickly as Kaneki's voice drifted away with mutterings of "Ah, I just…"

Yomo once again entered the conversation cutting off Kaneki's last few drabbles. "We don't do this just for your family. You don't need to thank us."

There was silence in the car once more until Ryouko tilted her head to focus on her lap. "You must be angry at me because I visited my husband's grave…"

At this comment Kaneki's eyes widened and he glanced at the back of the woman's head. Morie on the other hand closed her eyes and listened to the hum of the car as it whooshed past houses. She knew of the buried masks that acted as a poor man's grave. So many stories were past from CCG investigator to CCG investigator about how they cornered a grieving ghoul.

"I don't know about your situation but I know many things about the Doves and I know that when an individual is at their weakest, they leave themselves open," Morie mumbled whilst leaning against the cold window. "No one should be angry that you are grieving but people are going to worry about your reckless actions."

Yomo slowly nodded, his eyes focused on the road. "Masuda is correct. When going out you need to not be alone."

"I know I can't keep mourning him." The woman tilted her head down and closed her eyes to stop tears from forming. "I need to be strong for Hinami's sake."

The car was once again silent during the drive. Even after Yomo dropped Ryouko off at her home, the car remained silent until Yomo parked near Kami University's student housing and let both Kaneki and Morie out.

Before the two went their own way, they watched the black car fade into the night.

Morie turned towards Kaneki. "Be careful just like Mrs Fueguchi needs to be. I know what happens to those who aren't." With a wave of her hand, she turned her back toward him and started walking home in the dead of night.

Kaneki was left standing there pondering about the woman in the car, her words and the words of Morie_. This is their life_, he thought as he too started to walk to his apartment.

Anteiku was usually a lively place in the mornings and today was no different. People walked in and out at the chime of a bell to order their morning coffee. The only difference was the lack of any students due to it being a weekend.

Morie had set up her work station for the day on the table in the far corner like always. She bit her thumbnail in slight annoyance, her eyes focused on her laptop screen showcasing a detailed PowerPoint presentation. Upon her black paged framed with a swirling rainbow patter lay a blank slot for an image. Text next to it detailed findings on the cell structures of different kagune types from the flexible rinkaku to the sturdy kokako. She just needed a diagram, a diagram that she needed to draw herself.

A sigh passed through her lips as she begrudgingly opened the only drawing software on her laptop, MS Paint. As the lacklustre software opened, Morie grabbed out her stylus and drew a few blocky test lines just to familiarise herself with the program. Satisfied she started to draw curved lines resembling the cellular structures. Occasionally, she would draw a lone she didn't like so she navigated the top menu bar to find the undo command.

It was only when she saw a familiar figure step inside the café with a curt nod that she put her stylus down. Ryouko Fueguchi made her way to the counter as Anteiku's staff greeted her. Walking besides her mother was a lone girl clutching the fabric of her floral dress.

"I hate to ask this of you, but do you mind letting Hinami stay here for the day?" Ryouko politely asked Yoshimura as he reached bellow the counter to retrieve a carefully wrapped package.

Handing the package to the woman the manager smiled. "We offer our services to everyone." He leant down slightly to stare into Hinami's kind eyes. "Hinami will be a welcomed guest like always."

Ryouko returned Yoshimura's smile, retrieved the package and placed it into a bag she had resting on her shoulder. Addressing her daughter, she said the following, "Be a good girl, Hinami, like I know you always are. I will return in the evening." The mother once again gave a curt nod before leaving the store.

Koma stopped polishing a freshly washed glass, having seen the interaction and walk around the counter to great Hinami. "If it isn't our sweet little flower princess. "He winked and extended a hand. "I'll escort you to your castle." The girl nodded at took the waiter's hand as the manager picked up the glass Koma was in the middle of polishing.

As the waiter and the child made their way in-between tables and chairs, Morie eyed them out of curiosity. When they passed her table, Hinami stopped and stared at the laptop in front of her, having never seen one so close before. Morie nudged the laptop closer to the girl, showcasing the squiggles she made on MS Paint. Hinami's eyes widened at the sight of the technology.

Koma's usual smile widened. "Hinami this is Morie. She's a new member here at Anteiku."

The girl's eyes moved from the screen to Morie as she scooted closer to Koma. "It is nice to meet you."

"Likewise," Morie stated. "If you give me half an hour, I'll let you borrow the laptop with my supervision."

"I-I'd like that," Hinami smiled.

"Come on Hinami. Let's get you settled upstairs," Koma urged as he warmly gazed at Hinami. The two soon made their way up the stairs and into the meeting room.

Koma returned to the counter and started brewing a coffee. He poured the coffee into a white cup and made his way to Morie who had just finished the last touches on her pixelated diagram. With a quiet clink, the waiter placed the cup down on the table. Morie looked up at him. "On the house. Think of it as a thank you. She's in the meeting room when you are ready." With a grin and a wink, he strode away back to the counter.

Morie took a sip of the coffee and appreciated the acidic taste that danced on her tongue. Any flavour at this point was welcoming. As she drank the coffee Morie placed the diagram into the PowerPoint, saved it and closed the presentation as well as a word documents and PDFs containing her research reports. Before she closed the lid, Morie opened Google Chrome and cleared her search history to ready for Hinami's use.

Once the cup was empty, she grabbed her bags and marched up the stairs. With a rapt of her knuckles, Morie announced her entry into the meeting room. Hinami sat on the floor, leaning over the coffee table to draw on sheets of white paper provided to her. Upon Morie's entry she looked up.

"Drawing, huh?" Morie spoke as she took a seat on the couch next to Hinami and opened the laptop. Looking down at the drawing, she noted the girl's crayon drawing depicting pink flowers with 10 petals mixed in with some smaller drawings done in green depicting leaves. "So, you like flowers? I should have gathered. Your dress and headband are quite pretty."

At this comment Hinami put down the crayon she was holding and blushed slightly. "I think so too…"

"What type of flower are you drawing?"

"They are anemones. I read about them in this." Hinami shifted to her stitched satchel that was placed at an end of the table and retrieved a black book from within it titled '_Monochrome Rainbow_'. She opened to the page marked with a thin wooden bookmark and pointed to a passage. "The flowers in here sounded so pretty so I decided to draw from their description."

Morie's eyes glanced over the passage that read:

_Sunlight softly highlighted a ceramic pot casually placed upon the balcony. A mixture of white, pinks, amethysts and red made the bleak cityscape pop with bursts of colour. Their centres were deep in colour and their stems long decorated with branching leaves that almost seemed like individual grass blades. As the onlooker gazed upon them, time passed until they entered back into the depth of their abode. _

_The anemone's ten petals were slowly closing._

As she finished the passage, Morie sighed. "I always thought anemones were things Nemo lived in."

"What's a Nemo?"

Another sigh was audible as Morie typed 'clownfish' into the search bar. Results popped up but Morie ignored clicking on any of the weblinks, instead opting to click on the images tab. Soon after they loaded, the screen was full of small orange fish striped with black and white resting the tendrils of sea anemones. "Those are Nemos," she stated as she enlarged one of the many images. "They are actually called clownfish but as far as I can tell many people call them Nemos due to a movie."

Hinami grinned. "They are so colourful and pretty!"

"They are," Morie continued. "Right, let's see how your drawing compares to the real thing, shall we?"

A minute later the two of them were gazing at the myriad of photos showcasing said flower. Hinami frowned slightly at them. "My petals are too rounded. They aren't pointed like the ones in real life…"

Morie shrugged her shoulders and leaned back. "I say artist interpretation. Draw and do what you want."

At that comment, Hinami's good mood returned and she continued to work on her drawing with Morie occasionally directing her attention to a photo or video she found whilst surfing the web. Most of them were of videos featuring animals such as cats which both girls found highly enjoyable but every half hour or so Morie would make a reference to something Hinami had no knowledge of and thus the journey began to explain the topic of conversation. At the end of it all, Morie decided that she needed to have a movie marathon with the kid. Specifically, a Disney movie marathon like she once used to have with her father.

Around 11:50 Morie started to grow hungry so she excused herself from the girl for the day and grabbed her belongings. It was lunchtime anyway and as a poor university student, she couldn't afford to have a sandwich from the café everyday so she walked home to cook herself a cup of instant ramen.

Shirozumi in its cage looked at her with its beady eyes as she ate. As the broth in the Styrofoam cup cooled, Morie unscrewed the cap of a white bottle and dropped a singular red pellet into the mouse's cage. Greedily, the creature picked it up in its paws and started to gnaw on it. Morie watched briefly before grabbing a fork and blowing on the noodles she picked up with it.

Once she had her flavourless meal, Morie returned to Anteiku and was greeted by an interesting sight. During the time she was gone, Kaneki had arrived to work a shift and was standing near Koma as he brewed one of his many coffees. A red branded coffee bag sat on the counter. He looked like he was about to faint but had somehow steadied himself.

Morie walked over and leant on the counter. "What happened?" she inquired just as Koma started pouring the coffee into a cup similar to the one she drank from earlier that day.

The waiter nonchalantly replied, "He walked in on Hinami."

Morie narrowed her eyes. "That's not ba-"She cut herself when Kaneki turned to face her with a neutral expression. Koma raised an eyebrow and made a face to say 'are you serious?'. Morie then frowned. "Right, I see."

As the last few drops of coffee dripped into the cup, Koma handed it to Kaneki. "Give this to the little lady, will you? Oh, and go tell her you're sorry."

Kaneki clutched the saucer the cup sat upon and started making his way around the counter. Morie stopped him by tapping his shoulder. He turned around.

"Just to let you know, she's reading Takatsuki right now," Morie smirked as she walked back to her table which luckily hadn't been taken by anyone yet.

She watched as Kaneki carefully climbed the staircase and vanished from her view. With a huff, she sunk into the chair before snapping upright and interlocking her fingers in a stretch.

She was really craving another coffee right now…

**Author's Note:**

**Anemone: A flower that has many meanings I thought fit with not only Hinami but the story as well. It symbolises protection against evil and ill wishes, the death of a loved one and the approach of a rainstorm.**


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

**Hello everyone!**

**So, I'm back with another chapter. Although this one is a tad short, more chapters are on their way.**

**A thing to mention before proceeding is the fact I merged the days where Kaneki meets Hinami and the meeting that follows it. In the manga the meeting happens in the morning of the following day. I felt that the story would flow better if I merged them.**

The sun was just starting to set when Morie returned to her home and she was glad she left when she had as rain streamed down from the sky as soon as she got undercover. She dropped her bag on the ground and placed her laptop on her desk next to a sleeping Shirozumi.

Deciding dinner should be prepared she readied herself for another tasteless meal of rice and grilled fish she managed to pick up on sale a day ago. She washed her hands underneath running water before turning on the section underneath to stove to warm up in addition to pulling out her rice cooker and also turning it on.

As Morie dug an empty mug into a bag of rice to measure out how much she wanted to cook the ringing of a phone echoed through the silent apartment. It was muffled by the fabric constructing her backpack but its shrill buzzing was still sharp. She sighed and put the mug on the bench as she strode to her bag.

Digging around for the item she eventually felt the plastic of its case and looked at the screen to find out who was calling. It showed a photo of Kaneki so she slid the green phone symbol and answered, "Morie here. What's going on?"

It was not Kaneki who spoke. "Miss Masuda, I need you to come back to Anteiku." The voice belonged to a gravely serious Yoshimura.

"I'm on my way," she stated whist returning back into the kitchen to turn off the appliances.

"Thank you" was the reply as the line was cut.

Morie threw her phone back into the bag, slung it over her shoulders and left the apartment. The rain was still coming down heavy and Morie wrinkled her nose in disgust as she quickly stepped down the outdoor staircase and onto the streets of Tokyo. She quickened her step, hands tightly gripping the strands of her bag.

It got just dark enough for the streetlights to turn on when she arrived at her destination. The café itself had its open sign flipped to close and the curtains were closed and as she entered, the chairs were placed upon the tables. There was no one on the ground floor but she could hear commotion coming up from the second in the form of a loud bang.

Morie ran up the stairs paying no heed to her damp footsteps and saw Touka on her knees in the entry to the management room, her fists shaking.

"You're kidding!?" exclaimed the fallen girl, fury resonating. "SHE CAN'T SURVIVE IN THAT SHITHOLE BY HERSELF!"

As soon as Morie stood at the doorway everyone but Touka looked at her, sadness in their eyes. Morie noted Kaneki whose eyes were red from tears. She glanced around analysing the figures. Everyone who worked for Anteiku that she knew was there but she swallowed hard. There was nothing right about this situation.

Touka noticed everyone looking at the space behind her and slowly turned her head. She snarled once she saw Morie's figure. Her body snapped up to face Morie. "You... You lead them here didn't you?" her voice dripped with venom.

Morie took a step back and raised her hands in front of her chest, eyes narrowing. "Look, I don't know what has happened but I haven't done anything. Don't start accusing me."

The girl took a step towards Morie but as she opened her mouth to speak Yoshimura placed a hand on her shoulder. "Miss Masuda had nothing to do with this. The doves were drawn here due to Rize's actions not her's."

"Tch," Touka spat. She continued to glare fiercely at Morie but eventually moved to let Morie into the room.

Morie took a seat on the couch next to Kaneki as Touka lent against the doorframe again. "The CCG huh?" She closed her eyes but opened them revealing a harden stare. "Who?"

A phone buzz sounded and Morie knew it was from her's. She fished for it in her bag before tapping the screen to show who sent the message. It was an email, an email sent by the CCG. "Hang on. Let me read this." She swiped the screen, unlocking it with her password and scanned her eyes over the words of the message.

_To those whom it may concern,_

_Today two ghouls were sighted in the 20__th__ Ward. Fortunately, First Class Investigator Kureo Mado and his partner Kotaro Amon were quickly on the scene and managed to exterminate the elder of the two ghouls. However, the younger one appearing to be a girl in her early teens depicted in an artist's rendering below, escaped._

_Your help to exterminate the 'Daughter' ghoul is appreciated._

_Kamemochi, 20__th__ Ward Branch Director_

Surely enough attached to the email was a police sketch clearly depicting Hinami.

"Shit. It's Mado." Morie growled as she put her phone away. "Don't say her name. Where's Hinami? Is she safe?"

"She's currently asleep in the storage room. Yomo and I are making plans to move her to the 24th Ward in the coming days," informed the Manager calmly, careful not to portray his sadness.

At that comment everyone but Kaneki's tightened their muscles at the mention of the 24th Ward

"That's where Arima plays Whack-a-Mole," Morie said as the gazes from Touka and Yomo hardened. "Cannibalism too. A little girl can't survive there." After a pause of silence Morie continued. "Listen, I know the people involved. You do not want to cross paths with Mado. I don't know anything about his partner." She internally shivered at the thought of the man with the bulging eye.

Touka spat back, "This Mado bastard won't be a problem if we kill him first."

The stoic Yomo cut the teenager off with a "No". Arms crossed he continued to proceed. "If a Dove dies in the 20th Ward, they will consider the area to have hostile ghouls. If that happens, they will proceed to send more and more until new ones arrive. You have to understand, Touka…"

Morie nodded in agreement along with Yoshimura. Kaneki just looked around nervously.

"The best option is to do nothing," Irimi spoke.

Touka's eyes started to well with tears and she turned her back to the group. "I will be tragic if we don't retaliate."

"What's tragic isn't that we can't retaliate," Yoshimura replied. "What's truly tragic is being consumed with vengeance and not being able to live your life."

Touka snapped her head back to face her boss. "What are you trying to say?!"

There was no response. They stared at each other until Touka stormed out of the room, slamming the door behind her.

Yoshimura gave a sad smile towards Kaneki's direction. "Don't worry. She's also dealing with a lot of things." Returning to a serious expression, he addressed the group. "Kaneki you can return home for the night but Miss Masuda, I request that you stay here to explain what you know about the investigators."

"Um… right." Kaneki picked himself up with his gaze hanging low. "I will see everyone tomorrow." With that he exited Anteiku.

"Masuda, will you tell us what you know?" Yomo asked.

Morie nodded, took her phone out and placed it on the table to show the email. "I don't know much about Amon apart from the fact he is still most likely a rookie. Mado on the other hand is the one you need to watch. He is elderly looking but he has this intuition that is almost always correct. Furthermore, people in the CCG refer to him as Quinque Freak due to his in collecting the kagune of the ghouls he defeats. If he enters Anteiku then everyone working here will be compromised. I can get more information two days from now."

As the phone got passed around Yomo started to described the investigators he observed to the workers. Morie paid attention to the description of the tall, broad man with trimmed black hair with great interest. Now she knew who to lookout for in the coming days.

Once the conversation concluded, Morie picked up her phone and excused herself from the café. By this time the sky had fully transitioned to night. The rain had ceased but clouds and light pollution still blocked sight of the moon and stars.

Choosing to explore the area in order to investigate, Morie took a detour one the way home and as she turned the corner down a nearby street, she saw it. Two blocks down was a sectioned off side alley. A person dressed in white holding a silver suitcase stood by the taped area watching a small group of onlookers stood by the entrance.

Morie pushed her way through the crowd of worried people and to the man in white. He watched the student's movement carefully as she approached. "This is a CCG incident area. You need to stay behind the tape," he ordered.

Morie paid no attention to the investigator, choosing to look at the scene behind instead. An officer with their back turned stood shining a torchlight at the centre of the alleyway. A puddle dyed red tricked slowly into a drain off to the side. Blood was flicked onto a nearby wall. Kneeling at the puddle, shaking his head was a middle-aged man in a formal suit whom Morie recognised.

She wanted to get a closer look so with eyes firmly on the investigator she said the following, "Morie Masuda, CCG affiliate. I request entry."

There was no reaction when the investigator replied. "I need some identification then."

Morie huffed as she shook of her bag to show an ID she received from the CCG but stopped when the person with the torch shone it at her. The light making her eyes squint. "I thought I heard Masuda's voice," exclaimed the man, his young eyes peeping from behind his round glasses.

"Evening, Kusaba, Nakajima," Morie said as she ducked under the tape. The investigator watched every move the girl made as people in the crowd began to murmur.

"Did you see the email?" asked the man kneeling next to the puddle.

"I did." Morie stood near the walk sprayed with blood and pondered for a second. "Judging from the pattern, Mado decapitated the ghoul, correct?" She ran a finger around a bit of blood that had started to dry, images of the grieving mother flashing in her mind. Her breath remained still.

"Yeah. Get this, he used the quinque made from the ghoul's husband to do it too," the same man scoffed.

The younger of the two men investigating the scene moved his torch from Morie back to the blood in the centre. "I wonder about the child that was with her. The drawing shows that she's still quite young…"

Morie moved from the wall and closer to the puddle. Gazing down she watched the liquid wind between the small gaps in the pavement and into darkness. Her eyes narrowed in contemplation.

"A ghoul's a ghoul, Kusabe and we have a job to do." The crouched man got up and snapped a picture of the scene with a drawn-out sigh. "We need to hurry this up. Say, Masuda, care to join us for dinner?" he asked. "You'll get to meet Amon."

Morie shook her head. "I don't have the money to. Besides, I have things at home."

Kusabe pointed the torch at the wall whilst Nakajima took another photo. "Your presentation is coming up soon. Surely, you can spare the 1500 Yen for tonight. You'll receive payment on the 12th anyway."

Morie once again shook her head. "No. I can't afford to spend money on things like that right now."

"Geez," sighed Nakajima as he put the camera down and brushed his hands on his pants. "As you wish. Come on Kusaba, let's start the clean-up."

"Right."

Morie turned her back to them and lifted an arm up in a lazy wave. "I'll see you two at the presentation."

She once again ducked under the tape much to the ire of the investigator keeping guard. The crowd had started to dissipate allowing Morie a clearer view of the alleyway from the street. As she turned around a corner her body froze. The scent of old books, coffee and flowers met her nose. She stood there and inhaled deeply before briskly walking away, out of sight from the CCG members.

Under a lightpost, she sat. The water around her splashed as her hands fumbled for her phone. They were there. They were there and they saw everything. Her friend and the child. Morie scowled as she scrolled through her list of contacts. Her finger stopped on Kaneki's profile and paused for a moment before she scrolled up to Hide's name.

She brought the phone up to her hear as the _ring ring_ of it dialling made its way into her ear. 'Pick up,' she thought to herself as the ringing continued. It continued to ring until it reached voice message.

Not wanting to waste time speaking to nothing, Morie hung up, pulled up the texting screen. Her fingers moved fast over the keyboard.

_Kaneki needs something_

Send.

_A coffee or a book idk he needs something_

Send.

_He saw something he should of never seen_

Send.

As she clasped the phone, hoping the energetic student would see the messages any second right now, Morie lowered the screen. The glint of the light from the lamppost reflected off the phone just enough to make the surface reflective. Staring at Morie was a red dot. She titled the phone to get a better look and surely, it belonged to her.

As she threw the phone back into her bag, she picked herself up and ran back to her apartment, making sure to tilt her head down to hide her eyes.

After nearly tripping on the slippery stairs leading up, she eventually made it back home. Dropping her bag at the front door and foregoing taking off her damp shoes, Morie marched to the bathroom. By the time she got there her right pupil was not longer swam in a sea of black.

She stripped off her the wet clothing that clung to her body and turned on the shower. After steam started to fill the room, Morie stepped inside. The hot water streamed down her body as she breathed in and out to calm herself. Eventually she grinned and laughed.

Never had she been an onlooker from the ghoul's perspective personally. This scenario was everything she wanted to avoid for the sake of humanity and for the sake of ghouls. If only they listened to her. It was a riot.

Turning off the water, drying herself and brushing her teeth, she walked into her bedroom to get changed into her pyjamas. After the whole ordel, she didn't feel like fixing herself a meal. Collapsing on the bed with a grin and a sigh, she laid there until her own thoughts carried her to sleep.

It was later that day that another email was sent, an email announcing the death of Ippie Kusaba and a wanted ghoul donning a rabbit mask.


	9. Chapter 9

**Author's Note:**

**Another chapter! YAY~**

**I want to say two things before we continue onwards. **

**First on that list is the announcement of Tokyo Ghoul: The Akatsuki which is a roleplaying forum created by DarkHazen that has been newly created. Currently, DarkHazen and I are the only members in it and we are trying to recruit new members so if you joined that would be fantastic. Personally, I am roleplaying Morie after the Tsukiyama Arc events.**

**Secondly is a reply to eragon95159 who asked if Morie would create a drug that allows ghouls to eat human food. Because of this I wanted to clarify a few things about RC Cells and how Morie makes the tablets. Morie has to get a supply of RC Cells from somewhere to compress them into the tablets and RC Cells generally do not multiply unless a person is infected with ROS. Ghouls store RC Cells they eat in their kakuhou which is why ghouls can have fluctuating RC levels. Furthermore, from what I can tell, one eyed ghouls have the highest amount of RC Cells in their body when compared to other creatures. Due to this getting RC Cells to compress is rather difficult for Morie. Combine that with other nutrients ghouls need to digest in order to live such as salts, fibres etc, it's not possible for her to create such a medical miracle using the tools she currently has.**

"As you can before you, this chart shows the amount of ghoul related deaths in the 2010 from wards 1 to 23. Wards 7, 8 and 13 have the most deaths within but the 11th Ward had an increase of deaths from mid-May to the end of September due to the Binge Eater." Morie tapped on the spacebar and the slide changed to focus on the 20th Ward's statistics.

"Hey, that's us!" pointed out her single person audience. Hide sat on her couch grinning. After reading the messages Morie send him the previous day, he rushed to her house for an explanation only to be greeted by a slightly annoyed Morie who roped him into helping her practice her presentation.

Morie narrowed her eyes and gave a short sigh. "Please refrain from talking whilst I practice."

Raising a hand to his head the boy gave a mock salute. "Gotcha."

Just as Morie began to speak again Hide interrupted her. "You left rice out on the bench." He pointed at it and surely the rice was still there. A mug stood next to it. "And is that fish too?" he added.

Trying to contain her frustration, Morie facepalmed and groaned before walking over to the kitchen to clean up. She should have known she left at least the fish out the moment she woke up. The scent clung to the kitchen at least more clearly to her than the nose of her friend.

As she wrapped the salmon fillet in some clingwrap she said, "Look, I was interrupted when preparing it and after what happened, the thought putting it away didn't occur to me. You probably have a half-eaten something or rather in your room."

"Hey!" He paused for a second before sinking deeper into his seat. "I might actually have a bag of potato chips open next to my bed," he mumbled but got up to join her in the kitchen. As he pulled the strings on the rice bag closed, he looked at Morie who was rinsing the mug in the sink. "Is the 20th Ward really the most peaceful?"

"Yes. For years it has been which is strange because you would expect the 1st Ward to be the most peaceful because it is the location of the CCG Main Office." She tipped out the water inside the mug and began to dry it as Hide put the rice away in one of Morie's nearly empty shelves. "I should clarify what I mean by most peaceful," she stated. "I mean the least amount of death centred around ghouls. That includes human and ghoul deaths that have been recorded. It is thanks to Anteiku."

Hide leant against the bench watching Morie turn on the coffee machine in thought. From a shelf she grabbed a black mug and began scooping spoonfuls of sugar into it. Once the light indicating that the machine had heated up Morie began making the coffee for the two of them. She placed them on the coffee table near the couch when they were made.

Morie as she sipped her coffee began flicking through slides until she reached towards the end of the presentation. Pointing at a table showcasing Japan's suicide rates over the past few years she said, "This is how Anteiku works, Hide. They eat those who have already died."

Hide stood looking over her shoulder and let out a whistle. "If the folks at Anteiku are eating suicide victims then the numbers should be higher. Surely they would be classified as missing people then."

Morie nodded in agreement.

She soon clicked back to the start of the presentation. Hide let out a groan but positioned him back on the couch ready to listen to the whole thing over and over again.

Before she started for the fourth time, Hide check his phone noted the time and left to his feet to stretch. Morie eyed him curiously.

"Welp, time to go. Kaneki's about to start his shift. Don't worry about your presentation. It's fine the way it is," he added, pulling his headphones over his ears and heading towards the door.

Picking up the now empty coffee mugs, she walked over to the door before her friend could make it there himself. "I'm coming with you. I need to talk to Touka."

He lifted the headphones off his ears and grinning Hide put his hands in his pockets and shrugged.

"Good. Now put these in the sink," Morie ordered as she shoved the mugs into Hide's chest.

The boy complied and soon the two were walking down the streets of Tokyo to Anteiku.

It was a quieter time of day for the café as it was that awkward time for food venues where the lunch rush had just finished but it was too early for dinner. There were only four customers sitting in the booths and from what Morie could tell at a glance none of them were ghouls. They all had a plate of something next to them probably acting as an afternoon snack.

As the entrance bell chimed announcing Hide and Morie's entry. Kaneki at the register looked his way and smiled welcoming them to the store. Hide skipped over to the counter and raised two fingers. "Two espressos if you will. Oh, and can you add a marshmallow to one of them like you do with the hot chocolates? K', thanks," he grinned.

Shaking his head, Kaneki sighed. "Anything for you Morie?"

"I'll pass but do you know where Touka is? I want to talk to her."

At this question Kaneki tilted his head slightly in curiosity and briefly scratched the side of his cheek. "She should be upstairs. I'll need to go up there to grab the expresso beans so I will come with you if you would like."

Morie agreed as Kaneki charged Hide for the drinks before walking around the counter to Morie's side. Together the two of them climbed the stairs whilst Hide took a seat next to the window. He readied his playlist whilst he waited for his friends to return down the stairs.

Once they reached the top of the stairs Kaneki pushed open the door to the storage room where Touka was standing looking out the window. She turned her body at the sound of the door being creaked open.

"What do you want?" she deadpanned. She frowned as she watched Morie enter the room.

Kaneki made his way over to the shelves of coffee which also happened to be near where Touka was standing. Eyes scanning the shelves he asked, "Which ones were the expresso beans again? I may have used the wrong beans earlier…"

Touka sighed before saying, "Don't let it happen again. Use the ones with the blue label. It even clearly says espresso on the container."

She took a step towards the shelf and raised her arm to where the cylindrical espresso containers. There was a metallic clatter as the container she touched fell to the ground spilling its contents around the room but the sound of metal hitting wood was not the sound that made Kaneki attempt to catch Touka as she fell to the ground. Hissing in pain she grabbed her right arm. Worried for her Kaneki knelt on the ground asking if she was alright. Morie simply strode to the window watching Touka closely. Her suspicion correct.

Head hanging low, Touka cried a few tears as she shouted for Kaneki to leave her alone. Kaneki backed away a worry expression upon his face.

Cutting through the tension Morie asked with a straight face, "Touka, did you kill Ippie Kusaba?" Her voice was level. There wasn't a hint of anger or sadness in it.

"So, what if I did?" she cried facing Morie teeth bared.

Morie blinked but said no more as Touka pushed herself off the ground with a hiss, bumping into Kaneki as she left. As the two of them watched the girl vanish around the corner Kaneki noticed flecks of red on his hands.

"She's injured…" He turned to Morie. "We nee-"

The waiter was cut off by the Manger who calmly stepped inside the room. "No."

Kaneki was muttering to himself but Yoshimura with a stern voiced continued to say "no". "Attacking a Dove means she's prepared to suffer the consequences. It is not our concern whether she lives or dies due to the actions she chooses to make."

"But-"

Morie closed her eyes. "Kaneki do you know what is about to happen?" she asked before opening her eyes back up to stare directly into his.

"What do you mean?" he returned.

"Because one investigator died by the hands of a ghoul they will send more," Morie answered. "More investigators means that the chances of Anteiku's workers being found to be ghouls increases. If it is found that Touka is a ghoul then anyone who assists her will also be in danger."

Yoshimura agreed with Morie's comment.

Kaneki gulped but said no more.

"I believe your friend is still waiting for his order," said the elderly man as he reached for an unopened espresso bean container and handed it to Kaneki who then disappeared back downstairs. He then walked out of the room, returned with a dustpan and broom and passed it to Morie. "Could you please clean up the spilled coffee? I'm afraid I may be getting too old to bend down and do it myself."

She began to sweep the floor making sure to pile all of the rouge beans in the centre of the room as Yoshimura admired a certain teacup on display before exiting. Morie bent down to check underneath the future for and beans that might have rolled under them and surely there were about 10 or so under the shelving. So, she flipped the end of the broom and maneuverered the stick underneath the gap in an attempt to flick the beans out which succeeded. Eventually the all the beans were brushed into the dustpan.

Needing to put it in the bin, Morie went downstairs where she saw Hide laughing with an awkward Kaneki standing by his table marshmallow in hand. Locating the door to the back alley where the garbage bins were, Morie exited Anteiku.

When she stepped outside she noticed a small black figure to the left of her. Looking down she saw the short black hair and slender frame of Touka curled up tightly. She was strongly gripping her right arm as her white button-down shirt was dyed crimson from her wound.

Morie lifted the lid of a silver trashcan and tipped the beans inside of it before strolling over and sitting beside Touka.

"What do you want?" Touka groaned, her head in her knees.

"Just to say a few things," Morie replied. "First on the list is that I want to say I don't hate you for killing that Dove. You're expressing your sorrow at Mrs Fueguchi's death. Yoshimura told Kaneki and I not to assist you but I will try keep the CCG away from Hinami to keep her safe."

At that comment Touka lifted her head and revealed her somewhat red and puffy eyes. "Why would a human like you care if a murder like me died?" A sad smile graced her lips.

"I care because a life is a life."

A "tch" passed through Touka's lips as she turned her head to face the rubbish bins.

"That's all I wanted to say. I won't bother you any further." Morie rose from her sitting position and headed back inside Anteiku.

Touka remained sitting up against the wall and put her head back in between her knees until Kaneki opened the door with a solemn expression upon his face twenty minute later. In his hand he carried a medicine kit and placed it next to Touka. He stood at they talked.

Morie on the other hand had returned joined Hide before he decided he'd spent enough time in Anteiku for the day and headed home. She remained at the café for a bit longer offering to assist in cleaning tables and retrieving objects from upstairs.

Throughout the afternoon there was no sign of Hinami even though Morie went in and out of some of the upper floor's rooms. Worry centred around the girl filed her head so before she left, she asked Yoshimura about it. His reply was that she was moved to the basement for working hours to better keep her out of sight. At this Morie frowned slightly but she understood the reasoning.

During their conversation the Manager wished her luck for her presentation and stated that Anteiku would be open for workers early tomorrow evening if she wanted to have a coffee before the meeting also adding that her newly crafted mask would be ready for pick up as well.

Heading back Morie walked to a nearby pharmacy where she brought a pack of eyepatches. Kaneki wearing one was a good idea at least for the time being until she brought a new pair of sunglasses or if she had to be indoors for an extended amount of time. It would be a good failsafe if she got agitated again.

After finalising the purchase, she returned home, ran through her presentation one last time and had dinner before going to bed for the night.

A creak signified the arrival of Kaneki and Touka as they walked up a set of wood stairs. The stairs lead to a deeper storage unit for Anteiku where items would be frozen or refrigerated. Kaneki nursing his right hand.

"Oh, toughen up you weenie," Touka complained. "It will heal quickly for you. Having a rinkaku kagune means that you specialise in being sturdy."

Kaneki just looked at Touka's back as she returned to ground floor of the café.

With her hand touching her chin she, she darted her eyes off to the side as she mumbled to herself. Her companion walked over to a cabinet and retrieved some bandages which he began wrapping around his broken finger wincing in pain every once in a while.

Turning her head before grabbing the bottom of Kaneki's shirt, Touka stated, "You need to bulk up." She lifted the boy's shirt up revealing his pale and undefined chest. Kaneki tried leaning away from her but the bench behind him wouldn't allow him to escape. "Everyday you need to do a hundred sit-ups, back extensions, push-ups and squats starting today," she ordered.

Kaneki looked back at her in protest but Touka cut him off criticizing his flimsy muscular state.

From across the room Morie watched the scene unfold. She sat inconspicuously at a table enjoying a cup of coffee with a side of bacon, tomato and lettuce sandwich slices. After a long sip from her cup she raised it into the air and said, "Morning."

Touka and Kaneki froze as Morie continued to sip at her coffee. Her visible eyes glinted as she watched Touka release Kaneki.

"What are you doing here so early?" Touka questioned walking up to Morie with her hands on her hips.

"Breakfast," was the reply. "Besides, I heard that my mask was being delivered this morning. I should be asking you and Kaneki what you are doing here too."

"That's none of your business."

Chewing the last remains of the sandwiches Morie leant back on her chair balancing on the two back legs. She knew something was up with the two of them but her thoughts were cut off as the shop's bell rang. Standing at the entrance way was Uta clad in a black and white coat, baggy pants and beanie.

"Good. The two of you are here." The pierced ghoul walked over to the table where Touka and Kaneki crowded Morie and slipped off his sunglasses revealing the kakugan beneath. Looking at Morie face he frowned slightly. "An eyepatch. That's new isn't it?" He titled his head to the side. "I must say, unlike Kaneki it simply doesn't fit you well, dear." Tattooed fingers reached around Morie's ears as gently pulled the eyepatch off and onto the table. "That's better now."

Uta reached into a bag hanging from one of his arms and pulled out a box. He looked at it for a second before placing it on the table and looking at Kaneki. The chair opposite to Morie was pulled out and turned around. "If you would be so kind to sit here," he gestured.

With an uncertain look the boy sat down as Touka huffed, grabbed Morie's dirty dishes and made her way to the counter where she began to wash them ready for customers to use later that day.

The box was opened revealing a sleek leather mask surrounded by tissue paper. From what Morie could tell at first glance was that it came in two pieces; an eyepatch and a half mask to cover the mouth and neck. Where a mouth would be hidden was decorated using a mixture of red and white dyed leather to create the appearance of exposed gums. A zipper separated the upper and lower jaw belonging to the fake mouth.

Kaneki looked at it with a confused look upon his face too polite to say his actual thoughts on the mask. Morie laughed his inability to say that the mask wasn't really his style.

"Right, if you excuse me." Uta lifted the mask out of the box. It hung in his hands as he fiddled with another zipper around the neck area which allowed Morie to see that the eyepatch segment was actually connected to the half mask with two black cords. Uta leant over Kaneki's figure as he fitted the mask instructing the boy on how to put it on himself.

Once the mask had completely been put on Uta stepped back to admire his handiwork and nodded in approval. Kaneki's visible eye widened as he felt the leather on his skin. Uta took out a compact hand mirror and passed it to Kaneki.

"I figured the eyepatch style was kinda your thing so I incorporated it into the design," Uta explained as Kaneki moved his head around to get a better look at his mask.

"I wear the eyepatch on the other eye though…" the boy trailed off as he handed the mirror back to the craftsman.

Putting the mirror on the table and grabbing out a second, larger box Uta explained that he wanted to see the eye that Kaneki was hiding before instructing him to take the mask off by himself.

As Kaneki fiddled with the buckles and zippers holding the mask to his face Uta opened the second box. Inside was another leather mask but this time it had a metal plate covering the very tip of a beak-like protrusion. Silver bolts and fasteners attached dark grey strips of leather to the full mask. The section around the eyes and cheeks was a dusty tan in colour unlike the lower and upper beak segments which were the same dark grey as the straps.

Uta reached for the mask, reached underneath the upper bean and held it up for Morie to see. Inside the crevasse where her chin would rest was a small black box and a microphone. "The voice changer you requested. You don't need to worry about turning it on as it automatically turns on when you hook it to the upper half like so." He picked up the other half, flipped it over, showed her where the hooks were and attached the two pieces together. "This one is easier to put on compared to Kaneki's but allow me to fit it so you know where the straps go." Like what he did to Kaneki she reached around Morie's head and fastened the two straps one for the upper piece and the other for the lower. "Now, say something," the ghoul said with a wistful voice.

What came from Morie was a garbled and deep "something" which made her smile once she heard the voice.

"Good. Now you will need to change the batteries every few months or so. I have added a small screwdriver and packet of batteries to your box for maintenance."

He handed her the mirror and she inspected herself noticing how heavy the mask felt on her head but she sat up tall. She particularly looked at the beak which upon further inspection had nostril marks and the curve of the metal plate.

After a few seconds she said, "It's a vulture."

"Yes, it is," Uta replied as Morie gave him the mirror which he then slipped into his bag. "Now that I have given each of your mask, I best head off. Do enjoy them." With a flick of his wrist he waved goodbye as he indiscreetly placed his sunglasses back on his nose and walked out the door.

After he exited Morie began to undo the buckles holding the mask and once it was off, she carefully placed it inside the box and closed the lid.

As she did so Kaneki looked at Touka who was putting the now clean dishes away and asked, "What does your mask look like, Touka?"

Morie thought about answering it for her but she remained silent as she reorganised the space in her backpack to hide the box within. She had to take out her laptop, notebooks and jacket to fit it inside neatly.

"It's a white rabbit," Touka said bluntly walking over to the table with a damp cloth. Using circular motions, she quickly wiped down the table ready for it to be used again when the café opens.

Once everything fitted back into the backpack neatly, Morie zipped it up closed and slung it over her shoulder. She grabbed her medical eyepatch and fitted it to her head before bidding the two ghouls goodbye and exiting.

As she left Touka sharply flicked the cloth close to Kaneki. The woosh of the fabric caught his attention. "Listen here. We're going back down into the tunnel. I have plans for us today and you're coming with me. You got that?"

He gulped but gave his affirmation.

"Good." She slung the cloth over her shoulder and grabbed Kaneki's arm yanking him out of the chair. He wobbled trying to regain his balance but failed to. He fell forward with his arms out to brace himself instinctively. A yelp resonated throughout the building as pain shot up his right arm. Tears watered in Kaneki's eyes as Touka rolled her eyes. Today was going to be a long and frustrating one for her.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

**Author's Note:**

**I would like to thank my reviewers like always and it makes me extremely happy to know that so many of you who have stumbled upon this fic are enjoying it.**

**In response to bbymojo I would like to say the following. I too felt like there should have been more Hide in the anime which is why I have incorporated him a bit more into this story. If you would like to see a drawing of Morie's mask, I have actually drawn it three times and the images can be found in the link I posted at the end of chapter 6. Lastly, I don't really ship much and if I do it tends to be cannon ships. This fanfic is not a Kaneki/Morie paring but I can promise that their relationship is an interesting one.**

**At the end of this chapter I have some chemistry facts that I have used within this chapter. It has been a few years since I last touched a chemistry textbook so the information is basic and may not be 100% accurate.**

The building was large, imposing even. Centred in a field of flat green littered with trees and shrubbery it stood. The black, reflective glass making up many of the windows contrasted with the cloudy blue sky behind it. A section of the building cut inwards and was filled with levels upon levels of polished glass.

Morie's stride didn't slow as she walked past the brick wall and sign.

As she walked, she eyed the many noticeboards that lined the path each filled with wanted posters for ghouls. There was one board for each ward clearly displaying signs for any ghoul that may be in that area. Many posters were repeated across each of the different boards.

She briefly stopped in front of the 20th Ward's board and scanned over them noticing the one for Hinami. There was a photo of the clothes she wore that day in addition to the police drawing that was done. A brief description of her sighting and appearance in addition to the bold words expressing the CCG's request of eyewitnesses. A scowl appeared on her face. The rest would be explained after her presentation.

Returning her expression to that of neutrality Morie continued to walk until she entered through the automated sliding doors and up to reception.

"Morie Masuda here for the 10 o'clock presentation and meeting," she stated handing over her CCG identification card.

The woman at the disk took the card with two hands and typed some information on her computer. Her eyes shifted from card to computer before she handed the card back. "Do you have your doctor's paperwork?" she inquired as Morie placed a file onto the bench. Reaching out she took the files and ducked into a room behind the desk. She soon returned with a smile. "Please take a seat. An investigator will be with you shortly to assist with the closure of the RC scan gates."

Morie nodded and took a seat at one of the couches facing the window. In her mind she went over her lines and ques and excuses she would have to make explaining her eyepatch. She settled on blaming Shirozumi for it. The lack of the mouse's appearance in addition to the CCG's pre-existing knowledge on the rodent would help convince them. If that failed, she could always play the fake 'I'm a woman and don't want people to see ugly injuries' card but using that would break her character in her eyes. Never before would she try to hide her cuts and bruises.

As she continued to think to herself her eyes picked up a pair of black-haired students walking down the entrance path, stopping every now and again to look at the noticeboards. Eventually they made it indoors where they too walked up to reception. Morie turned her body to get a better look at the two. It was one boy and one girl both dressed in their school's uniform. The boy's hair was messy like he had just hopped out of bed and his clothes seemed to match. The girl was the opposite. Her hair was combed into two neat piggy tails and her uniform was pressed.

As they turned around to take a seat after the girl filled out a sheet of paper the receptionist had given her, Morie knew who they were. The pair sat on the couch next to Morie and caught her stair. Their eyes widened as the girl elbowed her companion to turn their gaze away.

Morie had never seen Kaneki's hair so messy nor had she seen Touka wear glasses.

Kaneki slouched in his seat an arm holding his head. Touka sat with perfect posture, hands in lap. They soon struck up a conversation when the boy eyed the barricade of large machines. Each was a gate with a few fences between each one. Their appearance was like that of a metal detector within an airport but on each side there was a screen that displayed the time. Morie knew that the numbers displayed would change when a person walked through. These gates were RC scanners and Morie disliked them for a few reasons. The first was because she found them a nuisance whenever she had to go in or out of CCG headquarters. The second was because of what they stood for. Metal detectors were necessary for airports to prevent individuals from bringing illegal items into other countries. Morie thought it sad that humanity felt that they needed to use them not only here but in large incorporations too. After the conversation with Touka, Kaneki thought the same.

It was soon when a chipper woman sat in front of the two disguised ghouls and introduced herself as Ruisawa, a forced smile plastered to her face. Instantly upon hearing her overly high-pitched voice and the use of "cutest tipsters ever" everyone but her winced.

Morie listened in on their conversation as she held in her laughter. Touka took the charge when answering the questions thrown at her by Ruisawa. 'Kanemoto' besides her chimed in every now and again with nods, "mhmm"s and expanded details on the girl they supposedly saw a day ago near Kasahara Elementary School.

At the end of it all Touka inquired, "Because ghouls are way stronger than humans, do the investigators fight them with, I don't know, gun?" She knew full well what the answer was.

Ruisawa clapped her hands together. "Sorry, but I'm not allowed to disclose that kind of information but fret not for the Main Office recently sent some highly trained investigators here!" Her smile widened at the thought of the younger of the newly sent pair. "They are the ones who exterminated the mother ghoul so I am sure they'll find this ghoul too."

Touka forced a smile upon her face even though she was heavily resisting the urge to deck the woman across the head. "That's good to hear," she smiled before her expression darkened slightly. "It must break the investigator's hearts to have to kill such a young girl…"

The response was almost instantaneous. "Not at all," the worker sing-songed. Morie closed her eyes and let a sad sigh pass through her lips ready for the rest of the comment. "Their very existence is a danger to us all so the deserve to be exterminated." I was something Morie had heard enough times in her life.

Both Touka and Kaneki were taken aback by her words but Touka managed to force words of agreement out of her mouth.

Morie watched them get up ready to leave the building that left them so uncomfortable. Touka caught her glances again and narrowed her eyes just as Morie froze eyes widening as Touka didn't watch where she was going. Her right arm bumped into that of an elderly man walking into the building. Instinctively, she clutched her injured arm as the man apologised, offering a hand to help the fall girl back up.

Morie leapt to her feat and walked over to the scene. "Good morning Mr Mado," she dully greeted. She turned her head to look at Touka who had taken the investigator's hand to return to her feet.

"Ah, if it isn't Miss Masuda. Waiting for an investigator to get you through the gates?" he pondered out loud as Kaneki and Touka began to sneak away.

"Yessir."

"Good. Good," he spoke whilst thinking. "Those students, do you know what they were here for?'

"They were reporting a sighting of the Daughter ghoul," Morie deadpanned trying to hide not to jeopardise Touka's plans.

"You two," barked the man clad in white as he turned to face the disguised ghouls. They jumped at their sudden beckoning. "Your information about the girl intrigues me. I am Kureo Mado. I am in charge of that particular case. Would you mind telling me your testimony inside?" He gestured to an RC scan gate behind him. "It shouldn't take up too much of your time. Just five minutes is all that I'm asking."

"Surely there is not need to do that," Morie said noticing the hardened stares of the ghouls. "I heard their testimony. I can repeat it back to you."

Touka raised her hands up and forced a smile. "I'm sorry but we really need to get to cram school now."

Morie gritted her teeth as Mado grabbed Kaneki by the arm and turn him around. His eyes were wide in fright and his palms were becoming slick with sweat. She should have known he would target the weak link of the two. "I'll keep it short, so come with me." The boy tried pulling away his pulse quickening.

He was a single step away. A single split second before he crossed the boundary. Morie had speed walked over to the gate as Mado pulled him through.

There was silence.

The numbers flashed 170 and both Mado and Morie looked at them with curiosity. Mado looked defeated whilst Morie just bit her lip as her eyes narrowed in thought. She would need to talk to Kaneki later. Kaneki on the other hand regained his composure but his heart was still racing.

"Kanemoto, we need to go," blurted out Touka as she grabbed his arm. Together they jogged out of the building.

Mado touched his chin with a gloved hand and scratched it, confused.

A large man walked up to the duo. His short, black hair was neatly combed and a piece of cloth was taped to his right eye. A white coat hung on his shoulders. "Is everything alright here?" His voice was deep and manly.

"Ah," Mado gasped shifting his eyes to look at the man. "Well two students came in with some information. There was something off about them… I must be losing my touch." He shook his head, recentring himself.

Morie tapped her foot impatiently tired of standing around and looked at the newcomer. "Amon, I presume? Anyway, would you mind shutting the gate off for me? We have a meeting to get to."

The tall man gazed down at her. "And you are?"

As the eldest of the trio scanned a card to open a panel on the side of the gate, he informed Amon. "Moire Masuda."

A few seconds later the clock on the gate shut off and Morie stepped through it with a puzzled Amon watching her every move. Mado soon turned the machine back on afterwards.

The tall man followed her move as his visible eye filled with a flash of sorrow. "You were the one Kusaba invited to dinner…"

"Yes," Morie replied no emotion clearly visible in her voice or on her face. "After the meeting there will be a memorial service for him in the auditorium."

"So, I've heard," Amon spoke with sadness in his voice.

With a curt bow Morie excused herself from the duo explaining that she needed to prepare herself for the meeting before walking away into the meeting room. There were rows of white desks and chairs facing a pulldown projector screen. Off to the side was a wooden speaking stand equipped with a pair of microphones. Morie walked up to the stand to where a man was grumbling to himself as he fiddled around with cables to connect a laptop to the projector.

"Do you need help?" she asked as she put her backpack down, unzipped it and pulled out a USB stick.

The man huffed but gave the cables to Morie as she began identifying which cable fit into which part of the computer along with the USB. After opening a few menus and copying her PowerPoint into a folder holding all of the presentations for the meeting, the computer's screen was mirrored on the wall behind them.

"There you go. I should be last to present," Morie told the man before walking over to the side where a table had been set up to provide the investigators with drinks whilst they listened to the presentations. A water dispenser was on the table full of hot water ready to be poured out in addition to stacks of Styrofoam cups, plastic spoons, teabags and instant coffee. From what she could tell the CCG members who were already in the room mainly chose to have coffee as their preferred drink whilst black tea was the least popular. Due to only being able to taste coffee for the past week or so, Morie was quickly growing tired of its taste so she forgo the chance to drink it here choosing to instead have green tea even though it would be just like drinking hot water.

As she took a seat towards the front of the stand and watched the investigators enter one by one. Many of the male workers wore black suits and ties. Some carried their silver briefcases with them along with their white coats. She knew those people would later patrol the streets of Tokyo in the hunt for ghouls to slay.

Ten minutes before the meeting was about to begin a familiar figure walked through the door. His hair was cut extremely short with a matching triangular beard and he wore the standard suit that nearly everyone else was wearing. Upon seeing Morie he smiled at her and took a seat by her side. "Are you ready to present?" he asked as Morie sipped at her drink.

"You know I prepare well Mr Shinohara," she replied happy to see the man she knew from her childhood days. The man had held many classes during her time at the Academy and he seemed to be a rarity amongst investigators not only because of his skill but because of his views on ghouls. He actually listened to what Morie had to say most of the time.

"No Shirozumi today I see?"

Morie put down her cup and touched the eyepatch cover her eye before putting it back down in an act to allude to why she was wearing it in the first place. "No. It has been temperamental," she frowned. "If only I had more supplies…"

"You should get some more samples today after the presentation," he added. "So how have you been lately?"

"Good."

"Still as stoic as every I see." He let out a well-intentioned laugh. "I guess somethings never change." Shinohara paused for a second before saying, "Do you remember Rei?"

How could Morie forget Rei. A child brought into the Academy and raised by ghouls. Although never seeing the boy, she definitely knew about the rumours of him killing stray cats and shoving their guts into jars. It was like her fascination directed at dissecting frogs and mice but warped and twisted to include non-lab animals and no order. When she was younger, she thought that it would be an interesting conversation to have if she ever encountered him. "What about him?" she replied.

"Well for starters, he has changed his name to Juuzou Suzuya and starting next week he will become my partner."

Morie let out a whistle as the lights dimmed indicating that the meeting had started. The man who was trying to set up the projector was standing at the podium tapping a microphone to grab everyone's attention. "For those who don't know I am Itsuki Marude from the 11th Ward and I am in charge of the ongoing Binge Eater case. In this meeting we will be discussing the aforementioned Binge Eater case, the Gourmet case, the Daughter case and lastly the newly activated Rabbit case. Afterwards Morie Masuda will do her biannual presentation about her research."

Upon the projector screen behind the man showed an overview of a case. Scenes depicting the bloodied aftermath of the ghoul's killings and feasts were littered all over the place and labelled with the time and date of the incidents. He began outlining what his team knew about the case. What stood out to Morie was the fact that the killings from the ghoul seemed to cease around October 3rd.

Investigators took their turns discussing the different cases each with their own slides and information based on what they have discovered.

When Amon stepped up to discuss Rabbit Morie could tell it was put together quickly at the last minute. There were two photos on the slide. The first showed the place where Ippei had died once the body had been removed and the second was that of a crystallised, red shard belonging to the ghoul. As Morie stared at the photo of the shard she couldn't help but think it was gorgeous. Not only was it red but there were hints of yellows and purples hidden within it as well. If she didn't know better, she would think it to be a precious gemstone but nonetheless it still belonged to the wanted S rank Rabbit. As the man talked, she could hear the fury in his voice even though he kept it steady.

As Amon walked back to his seat Morie walked to the stand and opened her PowerPoint. She inhaled deeply and smiled as she spoke. "First of all, I would like to thank the CCG for their ongoing support and request that they continue to support my future endeavours." She bowed deeply before returning to an upright position. "For my presentation today, I would like to discuss the research I conducted on kagune and how RC cells bond to form the different types and how certain ghouls have the ability to use electokinesis in addition to solutions to decrease the amount of deaths in Japan caused by ghouls."

Tapping on the spacebar of the laptop Morie switched to a page with a basic breakdowns of the four different types of kagune; ukaku, koukaku, rinkaku and bikaku. "I will skip ukaku for now and will instead focus on koukaku kagune." A diagram showing how the RC cells link together appeared. "Much like the tetrahedral composition of carbon in diamonds, koukaku RC cells form extremely sturdy structures. The weakness of their decreased speed comes from how densely packed the structure is. When comparing this to the highly flexible rinkaku it is clearer to see.

Rinkakus are the equivalent to graphene when discussing their properties. As the most mouldable their single layer cell structure allows the layers of RC cells to slides smoothly over one another hence their flexibility. However, because of the layers, the bonds between them make rinkaku easy to break.

The tail-like structure of the bikaku extends from the coccyx at the base of the spine and the structure of its RC cells make it a good balance between offence and defence which is why it is most for beginner quinque. Unfortunately, I was unable to get my hands on a bikaku sample to examine so I can only base my conclusions on research papers already written by the CCG and my prior knowledge. It should be stated though that many bikaku users have only one kakuhou which makes their kagune a single entity.

The last type of kagune I will discuss today is the ukaku kagune. This type of kagune comes in many different forms as its structure is the least stable which is why users generally have low stamina. The structure is unstable for a couple of reasons but the main one is the energy which is stored within. Projectiles are fired from the kagune due to pressure which builds up. This pressure compresses the cells closer together before firing them at the desired target. In rare cases ukaku users have been known to produce electricity from their kagune. This develops due to the RC cells moving into an excited state and has only been seen in Arima's Narukami."

Morie then clicked to another slide displaying a graph detailing the number of deaths caused by ghouls in each ward. She began repeating the speech she rehearsed with Hide whilst adding new bits of information that she gathered from the prior presentations to further explain her statistics.

As the last slide came into view Morie took a deep breath. This would be the part where most people in the room would discard her opinions. "I propose that instead of killing any ghoul we find on the street the CCG should enact a program which allows ghouls to eat those who have already died." She pointed to the graph on the slide. "Globally 800,000 people commit suicide each year. With just 800,000 bodies 45,000 ghouls would not need to kill live humans for food. If we add those who die in hospitals to the number of bodies, we can use to feed ghouls that number dramatically increases."

Her audience was taken aback by her proposal. Some members were deeply scowling. Flashes of deceased family members and friends came into their mind. It was such blatant disrespect to treat their corpses as mere food for the ever-present menace growing in their society.

"Even donating blood can help prevent human deaths caused by ghouls hunting for food. Further research can also be done to create artificial food for ghouls like I have done with the creation of the RC tablet which is currently being tested on a laboratory mouse.

As many of you know a single ghoul usually eats 18 bodies a year. If we can sustain that ghoul off those who have already died that is 18 lives we would have saved. Please consider this as a potential solution to the issues humanity is currently having." With a bow of her head she finished the presentation and returned to her seat. Shinohara looked at her with concerned yet understanding eyes.

As the lights slowly began to turn on again the starting presenter approached the stand. After acknowledging Morie's presentation he continued to remind everyone that the memorial service for Ippei Kusaba would be held in the main auditorium in half an hours' time.

Once the man excused everyone from the room, they started to leave one by one. Some of the looked back at Morie as they left the room, their faces contorted in disgust. She was used to this. All the CCG really cared about was how they could better exterminate the ghoul race rather than actually aiming to create better relationships with them and from what she could tell, certain groups of ghouls thought the same way.

As Shinohara bid his farewell Mado walked up to Morie's seat an expression of creepy glee upon his face. "I must say that your experiments are paying off but you can't possibly think that feeding all the dead to the ghouls will solve everything do you? They will simply be able to multiply more thus increasing the number of corpses the population will have to consume. Nonetheless," he beckoned for the girl to follow him. "Come. After your presentation I gather that you do not intend to go to the service? We are going to retrieve some supplies."

At the mention of supplies Morie smiled. Grabbing her belongings and putting the empty cup in the bin she followed Mado through the pristine hallways of the building. There weren't many individuals walking besides them. Morie suspected that was due to the service although she felt no need to mourn those already gone.

As the two of them approached a metal sliding door Mado took out a card and slid it along the card reader mounted next to the door. A beep was heard before the door slid open. The coldness of the room was made apparent as soon as the two of them stepped inside.

The place was barren and lifeless. Everything but the floor was constructed a polished metal which amplified the coldness of the room. A large wall constructed of draws faced Morie each labelled with a small slip of paper indicating what was in each draw. In the centre were a set of operating tables covered with clear plastic.

Mado walked up to one of the draws and pressed a button on the side. It popped open. Using the handle Mado completely pulled out the draw. Inside was the body of a ghoul stripped of their clothing and their head. Placed near the feet was a head frozen in a sad smile framed by brown hair which had been cut short when her head had been completely sliced off.

"The Mother ghoul, correct?" asked Morie keeping her face straight as not to reveal her inner thoughts.

"Perceptive like always." Mado lifted a limp arm. "Unfortunately, I am unable to give you parts of the kagune or the kakuhou but surely a sample of muscle shall suffice along with a copy of the medical notes, no?"

Morie nodded unable to verbally agree as her stomach twisted with the idea of facing Hinami. She needed that sample. Without it she couldn't conduct her research or feed Shirozumi.

"Wonderful! Do you mind helping me carry the body onto a table?"

She placed her hands on the side of the metal tray holding Mrs Fueguchi's body and on the count of three she lifted it onto the closest table. With Mado's instructions she retrieved a bone saw hanging from a wall and cleanly cut off an arm below the elbow. A narrow plastic box was placed on the table for Morie to use and she put the arm inside.

"Take as much as you need from the body. It will be disposed of later today," explained Mado as he oversaw Morie's actions.

Closing the lid on the container Morie denied taking anymore. Her bag would only just be able to hold the arm and as she thought she could imagine Hinami's distraught face in her mind.

"Suit yourself."

The two of them worked together to put the body back into the draw and clean the blood off the saw and table. The whole time Morie remained silent until she bid the investigator goodbye by a turned off RC scan gate and headed out the front door.

Wind blew the hair surrounding her face around wildly as she began her long a walk home. With every step the image of a smiling girl flashed in her head and knowing that she was carrying around the remains of her mother made her heart sink. Eventually, she had to wipe away the tears threatening to pour from her eyes.

With confidence in her stride Morie definitively decided that she would make it up to the girl whom she showed a small section of the world to.

**Author's Note:**

**_moto: So, in this chapter Touka calls Kaneki Kanemoto to hide his real name. Moto (****本****)is a common suffix that means origin when added to the end of people's names which is why Touka removed the "ki" from Kaneki's name and replaced it with "moto". I think it should also be noted that Kaneki's "ki" is the kanji for tree (****木****) which is one stroke away from "moto".**

**Carbon formations: When talking about RC Cell structures Morie compares them to different carbon structures. Carbon is a common element which can be used to make many things such as coal, diamonds, graphene and graphite. Although being made up of the same element the compound structure of each is very different and it is the structure which gives them their different properties. Diamonds for example have a tetrahedral formation which means that for each carbon atom two more carbon atoms are attached to it. Graphite is molecules are arranged in hexagonal layers that sit on top of one another.**

**Excited State: This is the term used for when an atom, molecule or nucleus receives more energy than its ground state. An example of an excited state can be seen with fire. If you place certain compounds over fire the fire will change colour. That is due to atoms moving into the excited state.**


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

Air rushed past Kaneki's head as he stumbled to avoid the punch. His unsteady footwork left an opening for the attacker and in a swift instance Morie roundhouse kicked him to the ground. She then hopped back, her fists tucked close to her chin ready to strike again.

From the sidelines Touka careful watched Morie's movements, analysing her capabilities.

When the woman approached her earlier that day, Touka was ready to dismiss her like she always had before but this time it was different. There was determination behind Morie's brown eyes and in a move she considered unusual Morie grabbed her wrist, forcing the she-ghoul to face her. "Let me help you. I want to protect Hinami," was all the woman said as Touka shook free. Thus, she begrudgingly led Morie down a set of ladders and into a section of a concrete maze where Kaneki was already waiting.

"Again," Touka barked at the disorientated Kaneki.

With a groan of pain, he got back up and resumed his fighting stance and maneuvered closer to Morie before throwing a right straight. Morie tilted her head to the side as she avoided it just before Kaneki readied himself to throw another punch. She ducked to dodge it, sprung back up once her foe over extended his arm and grabbed hold of it. With a gasp of shock, Kaneki's body was pulled forward as he felt something blunt make impact with his stomach. Soon his body was hunched over on the floor. Coughing and gasping echoed throughout the tunnels. "Where did you learn to fight?" Kaneki managed to say between laboured breaths.

"The CCG's Ghoul Investigator Training Academy," Morie shrugged as she relaxed her stance. "Instead of playing baseball or soccer we ran training drills. Instead of drama or calligraphy clubs there was kendo, archery, wrestling, etc. I did mixed martial arts."

"If that's the case," Touka said whilst rolling her shoulders and stepping towards Morie. "I see no problem with facing you myself without holding back."

Before Morie could readjust her stance Touka leapt into the air in and swung a leg down into Morie's shoulder. The researcher's knees buckled underneath strength of the kick but she managed to remain standing as Touka landed a left hook. She grit her teeth readying for the impact. Head obscured by loose hair, Morie snarled as she raised her arms to block the incoming attacks. When there was an opening Morie tucked the tips of her fingers into the top of her palm and struck Touka's sternum. Her attacker stood frozen for a second before ducking and sweeping Morie off her feet. There was a thud as Morie's body hit the floor and she lay there with her eyes open in shock.

"Life here is different from the padded ring you are used to," Touka said as she leant over Morie's body.

The prone woman's eyes were hardened and focused on the one who beat her down. Her right eye was swallowed by darkness as she continued to lie there, waiting for the pain throbbing in her head and aching near her neck to go away.

"You're bleeding!" Kaneki exclaimed as he rushed over to Morie's side. Sure enough, trickling from her temple blood was flowing. He froze slightly at the sight of it and her red eye so very much like his own.

Moving her arms into a better position Morie lifted her torso up. "I'll be fine."

Touka agreed with Morie's statement as the injured ghoul's kakugan retreated. Walking over to the side where a medical kit sat Touka returned her Morie's with a wet wipe. Handing it over she said, "Clean yourself with this. We will resume in ten minutes."

By the time Morie removed the blood off her face the wound had already sealed. As Kaneki watched the wound close, he looked at her with saddened eyes not because she was injured but because he was seeing just what a monstrous ghoul was capable of.

Eventually whilst Touka was doing her own thing thus leaving the two of them in the tunnels together, Kaneki took a seat besides Morie. "Why did you join us?" he asked.

Morie looked down at the bloodied cloth in her hand. "I told Touka this but after the presentation I did two days ago I was given the arm of Mrs Fueguchi." At that comment Kaneki started to look sick. She could see the anxiety in his eyes as he recalled Ryouko's cruel beheading. "I can't in good consciousness look Hinami in the eyes knowing that part of her mother is being used by me." Morie sighed and closed her eyes before opening them back up with fierce determination. "That girl should be safe and I intend to make that happen. That is why I am here, Kaneki."

Slowly getting to her feet, folding the wipe into a tiny square with each step she took until she reached the medicine kit where she placed the rubbish noting to herself that she would pick it back up on the way out.

As she looked up at the ladder which lead up to Anteiku, Kaneki blurted out, "I gave her my dictionary to borrow so she can read her books without my help."

At that comment Morie smiled but it quickly faded. Looking back at the boy with narrowed eyes she spoke. "So Kanemoto," Hearing the poorly made up name that Touka gave him, Kaneki paled. "How did you get past the RC scan gate without it going off?"

Scratching his temple Kaneki gave an unsure grin. "I guess because I'm partially huma-"

"No." Morie cut him off with her sharp answer. "I have papers certified by CCG doctors that gives permission to turn them off. I am human too and the alarms do sound if I try to go through an active one. Something's…" She trailed off just as she eyed Touka climbing down the ladder.

Once Touka made it all the way down she strode up to the two individuals sitting on the floor and crossed her arms. "Alright we have half an hour before the Manager needs us," informed Touka looking at Morie. "If you are turning into a ghoul like you clearly are do you have a kagune?"

At the mention of this Morie's hands drifted behind her back and began to feel her spine. "I do not know…"

Touka rolled her eyes. "We will find out then." With that her eyes turned red and from her back fire burst.

Kaneki already knowing what was about to happen fought the urge to run and got into his fighting stance. Morie on the other hand saw what Kaneki was doing, jogged away from the wall and took her stance as well just in the nick of time as a rain of crystallised bullets fell upon the two of them. The shards sliced away at their clothing and skin leaving scratches and cuts. Morie hissed in pain but continued to stand until a shard shallowly imbedded itself just below her left knee. In the spur of the moment without thinking, Morie ripped it out and threw the crystallised RC cell formation away, flicking blood onto the nearby ground. The gaping hole in her leg was too much for her to bear and she sunk to the ground unable to support her body weight with the injury.

Kaneki screeched out Morie's name and looked at her for a brief second leaving himself open to another barrage of bullets which once again sliced at his skin.

"Pay attention or you will die," shouted Touka as she ran to Morie's kneeling body and delivering a kick to her head which she blocked just in time. As Touka's leg pushed at Morie's braced arm, her body grazed against the hard concreate until the strength and pain was too much for Morie to bear. She screeched as for the second time that day her head smacked against the ground.

Forcefully Touka squeezed Morie's wrist before yanking her upwards with it. As Morie looked into the crimson of Touka's eyes words of danger made it to her ears. "If you don't do anything now, I will kill you." The ghoul dropped Morie's arm flat on the ground before pushing up the index finger of her victim with her foot. "You have three seconds before I break it." With every millisecond passing by more weight was placed on the finger.

"One."

"Two."

"Th-"

The number was cut off along with the weight on Morie's finger as Kaneki sprinted at Touka with his arms outstretched. It was an easy dodge for the experienced ghoul. She just simply took a step back, grabbed his neck as he sailed past and slammed him into the ground next to Morie.

Her kagune hardened into a crystalline claw and it hovered above the figure's forms. Kaneki's eyes widened in fear as slowly two red tendrils crept from his back and curled around his head for protection. Morie on the other hand had her jaw clenched and kakugan activated again but as Touka gazed into her eyes she saw no fear in them. The ghoul extended her kagune to strike the space next to the woman's head. There still wasn't any fear.

Touka's eyes returned to their usual blue as her kagune faded and she stepped back. "There's no point to this," she spat. "At least he gets the point." She shoved a finger towards Kaneki who still had the rinkaku over his head. "Go disinfect your wounds."

Slowly Morie got up and limped over to the medical kit as Touka watched her with annoyance in her eyes. Once she was close enough to the wall, Morie leant against it and slid down with her legs straight.

"I knew you wouldn't kill us," she panted whilst she rummaged around for some bandages and disinfectant. As she was about to apply the disinfectant, she saw her muscle tissues twist and turn together slowly closing the wound. The sight of such a thing intrigued Morie greatly so she simply sat there watching her body slowly knit itself back together.

In the meantime, Kaneki realised it was safe again as his heartbeat slowed and his kagune retreated back into his body.

Touka on the other hand stood to the side arms crossed as she watched the two. Eventually she barked at them to change into their spare change of clothes she told them to bring before they arrived at Anteiku before climbing back up the ladder and back into the café.

Kaneki quickly grabbed his pile of clothes, went into a tunnel branching off the one they were in and quickly returned wearing a white button-down shirt and black pants.

Once Morie had had enough of watching her injury slowly heal and wrapped the ever-shrinking hole with a bandage she too got changed in a separate tunnel before struggling ascending the ladder. She persevered however forcing her injured leg up and down until she reached the ground level.

Just before she was about to lounge on her standard seat there was a soft call from the counter. Cracking open her eyes she gazed lazily at Koma who was joyfully standing by the coffee machine frothing milk. There weren't many customers in the shop due to the time but Morie could tell he had her hands full serving at the counter alone. "Could you get Hinami's dishes for me? They should be outside the meeting room door."

With a grunt Morie lifted herself off the chair and slowly made her way up the wooden stairs noticing the pain originating from just under her knee fading with every step. Once she stood in the hallway, she eyed the light pouring out from a sliver made by a slightly open door. Just in front of it was a cup accompanied by a saucer. There was no plate or cutlery like Koma implied. At this Morie frowned knowing that the child wasn't eating properly.

Reaching down she picked up the dishes and gently pushed the door open a saddened expression on her face. The girl was curled up on one of the couches tucked underneath a sprinkle patterned blanket clutching something tight to her chest. Just as Morie was about to leave Hinami stirred. A few moments later the girl was upright rubbing the sleep from her eyes and yawning. "I smell blood…" she mumbled as Morie took a step back still unsure about interacting with the girl.

Hinami blinked a few more times before looking at the woman in the hallway. Morie could see the wateriness of her eyes and the bags underneath her eyes. Her very presence disturbed the girl from the much-needed sleep she needed.

"I'll be going now…" Morie said ready to leave.

A noise behind her made the woman jump. Touka stepped out from the storage room and brushed past Morie all whilst tapping a rolled-up newspaper on her shoulders. "You're awake Hinami. That's good. Did you rest well?" Whilst Touka opened the door further and took a seat next to the girl with a happy sigh Morie took the time to retreat away from the room.

Awaiting her Koma directed Morie to the kitchen where Yoshimura was washing the dishes. With wrinkled hands he took the dishes from Morie's arms and began to wash them in the soapy water. Morie stood there for a second watching the delicate hand movements of the elder man. Before leaving to return to her usual chair she informed the manager. "Hinami still isn't eating properly."

With the sound of her boots hitting the wooden floor she returned to her seat and sunk deeply into it. Soon Kaneki came to the table notepad in hand and a friendly grin. "Is there anything I can get you?" he warmly asked.

Morie stretched her arms above her head and yawned before meeting the boy's visible eye with her own. "Honestly, at this point I don't know." A loud sigh escaped from her lips. "Give me a coffee but surprise me with the blend and brew," she decided figuring that the money she received from the CCG after the meeting would allow her to indulge in a cup or two.

Jotting down the order Kaneki strode off over to Koma who was still by the coffee machine. A few moments later he returned with a clear glass on a white plate. The clearness off it allowed Morie to see the layers of foam, steamed milk and coffee which made the drink look like a warm cream and brown rainbow. As he placed it on the table he informed Morie that the cappuccino was a Guatemalan dark roast blend. She brought the drink to her lips and let the liquid flow down her tongue. Amongst the bitterness of the coffee there was a sweet undertone that Morie had tasted a few months ago, fruit. There was a distinct taste of citrus mixed with sultanas. Her eyes threatened to water with tears as she placed the cup down on the saucer. "Thank you," she whispered with a smile. "The coffee here really is the best."

"I'm glad you like it," Kaneki said.

After taking another sip Morie looked at him and told him, "You should see Hinami once your shift ends. She needs the company." Understanding he nodded his head before wandering over to a table seating what appeared to be doting a couple.

As the hours passed Morie continuously ordered more cups of coffee from Kaneki who selected different brews and types of coffee for her to drink. He figured it was a good experience for him to familiarise himself with some of the blends unknown to him. However, he would stick his head into the kitchen to ask Yoshimura what he suggested when Morie ordered her fourth coffee and he ran out of ideas.

Eventually Koma bid his farewell for the day and turned the open sign to closed as he left the building. Kaneki too was ready to leave with his removed vest and jacket slung over his shoulders but was reminded by Touka to check the back door to see if it was locked. Morie on the other hand was washing her seventh used cup in the sink as she watched Touka and Kaneki's interaction.

As Morie was putting the finishing touches on drying the dishes the two other people in the building walked upstairs. A loud shout that came from Touka's mouth before two pairs of footsteps thudded down the stairs. Morie's head shot up and eyes widened as she rushed to put the cup set away in a cupboard above her.

Gasping Kaneki ran up to Morie holding her bag and jacket. "H-Hinami ran away," he spluttered as Morie snatched her belongings and marched out of the kitchen.

Touka was already halfway out the door when Morie and Kaneki met up with her. Slipping their bags over their shoulders the trio started to run through the streets of Tokyo. The most experienced out of all of them was sprinting at a pace that Kaneki and Morie simply couldn't keep up with despite her words ordering them to hurry up. Morie was struggling just to run at all as with every step she made pain shot up her leg caused by the injury Touka had inflicted on her earlier that day. She settled for speed-walking which put her behind Kaneki's fumbling form.

Fed up with her companions holding her back, Touka gritted her teeth and yelled at them one more time before lowering herself to the ground and springing herself high into the air. Although the jump was fierce her landing upon an apartment's railing was delicate. Kaneki and Morie kept their eyes on her as the ghoul vanished into the canopy of skyscrapers.

The boy's movements slowed as he reached into a pocket, retrieved his flip phone, quickly went through his contracts and tapped the green call button. Panting and crossing his fingers he held the phone up to his ear. "Hello, Mr Yoshimura?! H-Hinami ran away."

As he continued to exasperate the situation into his phone Morie caught up to him and signalled to him with a pointed finger in an attempt to explain her split up from him. Instead of running straight through the intersection like Kaneki was going to do she took a left knowing that by leaving him the two of them could cover a larger ground.

Her pace slowed as her body demanded more oxygen from the world around her. Her left leg was thudding with a stabbing ache that refused to go away for the time being but she pushed through it as she stepped into a puddle which hadn't evaporate much since the downpour days prior. As she caught her breath Morie looked around the street for anyone who may have seen Hinami but there was no one. Usually there was always the humdrum of busy Tokyo life in places such as Shinjuku but in the housing streets of Nerima not many stirred at this time of night. Occasionally a car would cruise by with its blinding headlights which halted Morie for a few seconds as she readjusted her eyes.

Just as she walked into an alleyway a shrill scream pierced the still night. The owner was clear to Morie as she turned around and began to sprint with full force towards the sound. Hearing it for only a second made it hard for her to pinpoint the girl's exact location but she ran through the winding streets until she reached a set of railings preventing casual civilians from falling down a brick wall. The rhythm of her movement combined with her breathing nearly prevented her from hearing the grunts and shouts coming from the ledge just below the railing. Slowing her steps, she gazed over the ledge and down at the pavement. Locked in battle were two figures glaring at each other as they exchanged blows. Even though the streetlights were on Morie found it difficult at first to identify both individuals until the figure dressed in black had his hood removed allowing her to see a leather mask decorated with an eyepatch and exposed gums. The other person was so tall and broad that it could only be Amon, the investigator she met at the CCG meeting.

Backing away from the rails she took a deep breath, reached for her bag and dug to the bottom of it where her mask was stashed. Feeling the weight of it in her hands she gazed at the metal tip before firmly attaching it to her head and pulling up the hood of her jacket. Her first reaction was to tilt her head down due to the weight of the beak section but she lifted it up high as she zipped up the bag and leant over the rails watching the fight below.

Her feet twitched in frustration and anticipation as she saw the investigator opening his silver case, pulling out a large metal rod which soon had a mass of RC cells whirl around it before forming a large, dense cylinder around the pole. With a wide swing of the weapon Kaneki took its blunt force sending his body to the ground.

Fighting the urge to jump down into the battle to protect her friend, Morie leant further over the railings eyes flicking between the two fighters carefully analysing the two locked in battle. There would be breaks in the fighting where the two of them would speak between huffs to each other but it would quickly end when Amon swung his quinque again at Kaneki. Within the span of a few seconds the swings grew more wild and rapid as Amon grit his teeth clearly annoyed and impatient. All that Kaneki could do was jump backwards to avoid being hit. It was only when he copied Touka's early mauver of jumping into the air that Morie balanced on the top railing bar ready to jump down to help the boy.

Kaneki's teeth sunk deep into the investigator's shoulder digging in even deeper due to the force of the jump. Amon taken aback by the attack gasped before letting out an angry shout as Kaneki swallowed and crawled away from the man, his visible eye glowing red. The white teeth decorating the mask along with the silver zip were dyed red and grew sticky as the blood began drying.

It was at this point when Morie jumped down landing on the pavement behind Kaneki as three scaled tendrils sprouted from his back and shot forward towards the downed Dove. A crack echoed around them as the quinque Amon had positioned to defend himself broke into large pieces and fell to the ground around him. The investigator looked down as Kaneki loomed closer and closer to the man kagune flying wildly from his back.

"Run. Please just run…" Although the tendrils were thumping at the bricks and concreate Kaneki was digging his nails into the fabric around his biceps. Like Amon his head was down but he lifted it revealing the tears flowing down his face. "Please don't make me a murder!"

With a grunt Kaneki fell to the ground as Morie ran up behind him weaving in and out of the kagune and tackled him. "RUN!" she shouted in a deep and crackly voice as her arms wrapped tightly around his torso. She knew what was coming and she would do everything in her power to stop it.

Amon sat there fixated on the new comer but shakily picked himself up seeing the woman being jostled around as the boy thrashed beneath her. It was just like a rodeo. The kagune whipped closer to her body all whilst destroying aspects of the nearby surroundings. Eventually they found their way to Morie and began a viciously stabbing her ignoring their owner's squirming body in the process. It was at this point that Amon started to briskly walk away all whilst holding the shoulder oozing fresh blood.

"Get off me!" Kaneki snarled as he began to drool at the smell of blood flooding the area. He was clawing at the pavement and at Morie who was still holding on firmly.

The woman ignored him as she spluttered up blood which began to seep from the gaps in her mask.

Feeling something wrap around her ankles Morie tried to kick it off but it held on firmly. It pulled and yanked her which resulted in the arms pinning Kaneki down to loosen their grip. Her body was flung up into the air and flicked down onto the pavement. Winded she gasped for air as a hunched over Kaneki inched closer to her body a grin growing wider.

"It's okay if I eat you, isn't it?" he laughed before collapsing down to the ground near Morie. A shrill wail resonated around them as he saw his friend lying on the ground holes in her back and blood flowing down into the river. "No. Nononononono," he wept holding back is own hand. His crimson kagune slowed their movements as they curled back up into his body.

"You own me new clothing…" Morie twisted her head to face Kaneki who had momentarily stopped crying after hearing her voice. She coughed spilling more blood inside her mask then forced a wonky smile that wouldn't be seen. "Don't worry. I'm not going to die here but I'm not going to say that I feel no pain."

Kaneki scrambled closer to Morie. He lifted one of her hands with both of his and looked down at them. "I'm so sorry." She felt the hot tears land on her skin.

"Listen. You need to eat properly to avoid this happening." There was a pause before she added "again".

He began to wipe the tears from his eyes and after he blinked a few times he froze looking at her face. "Your eyes…"

"Let me guess," she said. "kakugan?"

He gave a slow nod.

Morie sighed deeply. "So, it's like that, huh?"

The sound of boots clicked behind them as a tall man dressed in a long dark coat walked up to the pair. His hood was up and his eyes were masked behind a mask resembling that of a plague doctor's but the normal circular lenses were replaced with what looked like black goggles. "I've been watching you," was all he said before reaching into a pocket and retrieving a brown package. "Eat. You'll feel better."

"Yomo?" muttered Morie as she turned her head to face the cloudy, dark sky. "You really do need to eat Kaneki."

"Indeed." The man removed his raven mask, leant down by her side and placed the package next to Kaneki who grasped it with shaking hands before walking away.

Once the boy had vanished into the shadows of the night Yomo reached into another pocket and pulled out crisp bandages. "Can you get up?"

As Morie watched the lights of a plane soar above her she contemplated her answer. There was no doubt in her mind that she would survive. If anything were similar it would be the wound she received from Touka which had slipped from her mind during her tussle with Kaneki. She no longer felt the dull ache originating from it. Instead her mind was focused on her back. Morie didn't know how many times she got hit but she could tell it was at least two deep and numerous shallow injuries.

With a twitch of her fingers she pressed her palms firmly on the ground as he slowly began pushing herself upwards. Her breathing grew laboured with every millisecond that passed. Eventually she needed a break and held her torso mere centimetres from the ground. Yomo slid an arm underneath her and when she was ready, he helped push her until she was completely upright.

"Stay like that. We will fix this properly after we find Hinami."

All Morie could force herself to do was to grit her teeth all whilst trying to slow her breaths as Yomo removed her torn jacket and began tightly wrapping the bandages. The wrappings were tight enough to make her spend more energy to expand her chest with every breath but she knew it had to be this way in order to slow the bleeding.

After directing Morie to lie back down Yomo removed her mask and surveyed the area as Kaneki slowly walked back. His face was completely exposed as he had pushed his eyepatch up and the lower half down. Light reflected off water that was wiped across his lips. Grey eyes glossed over Morie's exposed face caked in her own blood.

Upon seeing the boy Yomo informed the duo that they would need to leave the area soon. Morie groaned as he rolled her body over and lifted it onto his shoulders.

"I should be able to walk again soon," grumbled Morie as she felt the up and down motions of being carried along the riverside.

Kaneki kept his head down thoughts filling his head. Occasionally his eyes would drift over to Morie limply slung over Yomo. In a hand she loosely held the straps of her mask. It swung back and forth.

Eventually once they stepped down a steep incline down into a rocky beach area just below a bridge Morie lifted her head up. Her nose twitched taking in a sweet scent. Flowing down the river were strands of crimson that dissipated the longer it sat in the water. Kaneki also noticed this but he remained silent as he looked up and at the scene in front of him.

Clutching her side Touka stood with her back to the newcomers clutching her side. Hinami stood next to her side on as she wearily cupped her hands together. There were holes all over their clothing and blood seeped from a wound in the side of Touka's stomach.

"Are you guys alrig-"Kaneki froze as he ran up to the two girls. The dark river water lapped at the corpse of a man dressed in what once was white. Kureo Mado's stretched smile and bulging eyes looked straight ahead at Touka and Hinami but they were dull. A leg and hand had been lobbed off revealing hidden muscles and bone.

"I'm… fine…" Touka's eyes drifted down to the Dove's body.

Seeing her actions Yomo gently put Morie down near the river and marched into the water to deal with the corpse.

Morie started washing her face. Cupping the water in her hands she tipped the liquid over her face not caring if it got her clothes and hair wet.

"Are you okay, Morie?" Hinami asked as she knelt next to Morie. "You're hurt…"

In response she placed a damp hand on the girl's head and smiled. "Give me time and I will be." Ignoring the sharp pain in her back, Morie leaned forward and pulled the child towards her. A tear trickled down her cheek. "You're safe now."

The young girl's breathing slowed and she let her eyes close as her head nestled into Morie's neck. Soon she fell into a shallow sleep within the tight embrace the adrenaline of the event fading away. The two sat like that until the pain in the woman's back grew too much for her and she asked for help.

Kaneki helped slide the child off Morie with gentle arms. A soft smile graced his face as he too distressed from his encounter and let his body relax.

Mumblings from the girl's mouth reached his ears. The movement had awoken the child albeit slightly. "Is it alright for me to live...?"

Kaneki's smile faded. "I think that day, your mother was telling you to live."

Hinami hearing his words lulled herself back to sleep as Kaneki slumped next to Morie.

"The world is cruel isn't it?" she said.

Kaneki remained silent.

Touka was standing still in the water gazing at the path winding its way out of the bank. Wind rustled her knotted hair. Out of the corner of her eye she saw a man clad in a trench coat and fedora walk away from the scene. In her mind she knew it was Yoshimura.

There was splashing in the water as Yomo stepped towards everyone. "We need to go. Someone is coming."

On the count of three the man lifted Morie back onto his shoulders with a grunt as Kaneki tried his best not to awake the sleeping Hinami again as he held her in his arms. Touka limped out of the water and they began their long walk back home in the dead of night leaving behind remains of an investigator who would not be forgotten.

**Author's Note:**

**Well that's the longest chapter I've written so far! Originally this was going to be two chapters but after I wrote the first part, I was like well I don't really want to end it there so I just kept going. Speaking of the first part I re-wrote it a few times as I wasn't happy with how it flowed or the order of events. That's one of the reasons why this chapter took a tad longer to write. The other one is animation. Let's just say to appreciate everything you see in the animation you watch even if it is the poorly animated stuff in Root A and re: Each frame takes time yo!**

**Anyway, this concludes the Hinami arc. Next up I will be going through some of the events that happen in Tokyo Ghoul Days and the aftermath of the arc's events. **

**I hope you still continue to enjoy~**


	12. Chapter 12

**Author's Note:**

**So originally this chapter was going to be a lot longer as I planned to have it cover all the stories in Tokyo Ghoul: Days I thought would fit well in the story. These short stories are The Bible (which is mostly explored in this chapter), Lunch Boxes and The Bookmark but you don't need to know these stories in order to read this one. Anyway, as I re-read the book and thought of what I wanted to include, I concluded that if I were to do that then this chapter would be super long.**

Living felt like pain for Morie. The morning light shone harshly through her blinds and onto her face. Normally she would wake up before the sun had its chance to shine but today was different. She didn't want to move at all.

The day prior she managed to roll herself out of the bed and lazily wandered into the bathroom where she peeled off her bandages and inspected her back in the mirror. It was full of jagged red circles all scabbed over and excruciatingly painful. After preparing a cup of noodles and eating it she went back to bed for the day.

Today she was beginning to feel like she could actually do something rather than laze around in her room even if it was just to set up camp in the living room. With an annoyed kick of her feet Morie flicked the sheets off her body and onto the messy floor of her bedroom before grunting and leaving it.

Out in the living room Shirozumi squeaked and paced around in its cage eagerly awaiting food. The rodent was ignored as she walked into the bathroom. The lights flickered on as she walked up to the mirror and once again inspected her back. The circles had disappeared leaving behind smooth skin but everything constantly ached. Every slight movement still sent stabs of pain through her spine. Today she would continue to take it easy.

After splashing her face with water and brushing her teeth Morie walked back into the living room. Shirozumi's paws tapped against the glass, eyes wide and gleaming with hope. With a heavy sigh Morie walked up to the cage and grabbed the tablet bottle next to it. She tapped out a single red pill into the palm of her hand before opening the cage and dropping it inside. Shirozumi instantly ran up to the pellet, grabbed it in its paws and started gnawing on it viciously.

She needed food too…

Morie's stomach growled. Within the span of two- and a-bit days she had only eaten one instant ramen cup. The first day she spent completely in bed. Her only action was picking up her phone to inform her lecturers that she would not be present for their classes.

Not wanting anything fancy she simply took out her rice cooker. As it heated up Morie took the opportunity to go back into her room where she picked up a random set of clothes to wear. She took off her pyjamas, throwing them on her bed and swiftly slipped the tracksuit pants on. Her fingers then started buttoning up a white dress shirt and as she did so she shook her head. White was not her most favourite colour to wear but she couldn't be bothered bending back down to pick up another shirt not with her back still aching.

Once her rice was cooked, she began to gingerly eat it. A cup of instant coffee sat on her desk as she watched Shirozumi go in and out of an empty toilet paper roll. When the rice was cooking, she turned the kettle on and prioritised the coffee over her food so when she scooped it into a bowl the grains stuck together in a mush. When she started shoving clumps of it into her mouth it felt like she was eating glue. At least the coffee was there to wash it down even if she was growing sick of tasting the drink.

With a stretch which she soon regretted doing, it was back to the kitchen to place her dishes in the sink. The tap was turned on to fill the bowl with water in order to prevent any pieces she missed and any bits of mush that stuck to the sides.

There wasn't much for her to do indoors apart from lying in bed, lying on the lounge, watching television or reading. She was growing tired of just sitting around but nonetheless she skulked back into her room, grabbed her pillow and a blanket before lugging them to a spot just in front of her small TV where she began arranging them on her black couch. Once she was satisfied, she bent down with a huff, turned the TV on and opened up the cabinet beneath it revealing her small collection of Disney DVDs and her DVD player. Her fingers traced along the collection's spines with her finger lingering on Finding Nemo before switching to One Hundred and One Dalmatians instead. Once everything had settled, she would invite Hinami over so they could watch the Pixar movie together.

When the song Cruella De Vil started playing, she closed her eyes and hummed along with the characters until there was a knock at the door. Her eyes snapped open. Fumbling around for the remote she hit pause on the film before getting up a bit too fast. Her muscles tensed as she hissed complaints to herself.

Eventually she made it to the door. When she opened it there stood a tall man whose frame blocked out most of the natural light. Covering an eye was a square of cut cotton loosely taped as a wound still needed time to heal. His eyes were cold and matched the sad frown he wore.

"Good afternoon," he said as Morie blinked a few times before darting her eyes to glance at a clock. The day had started slipping away from her. "Do you mind if I come in?"

She took a step back and allowed the man to enter. "Investigator Amon if I remember correctly was it? I wasn't expecting any guests today so forgive the mess."

The visitor stepped inside and looked around the room. His eyes fell upon the television and the blanket that had been kicked to the floor when Morie got up. It was pretty dark inside too as the only light which entered came through the kitchen window. Morie flicked the lights on and as they illuminated the room, she noticed that clutched in one of Amon's hands was a silver briefcase.

"Would you like a drink?" she asked just to play the role of a good host.

Amon denied the offer as he took off his shoes. Once his business shoes were neatly lined up together in the small gekan, he stepped onto the wooden floor making up the living room. "It was Investigator Mado's funeral today," he stated as Morie took a seat on her office chair.

She of course knew that a funeral would be held for the dead investigator and the CCG was always swift in the execution of them. Although with her writhing in bed, she failed to see the email that was sent out announcing the date.

"I've come to discuss his will on behalf of the CCG." Amon walked up to the woman and placed the sliver case on the coffee table.

Morie glanced at it. "A quinque?"

Without a second thought Amon clicked open the case revealing the weapon inside. It was jagged and a deep crimson in colour although it looked faded and grey in many of the areas. The blade of the machete looked like someone had grabbed a chisel and had chipped away at the material until it had been fully shaped. As for the handle it was wrapped in cream bandages.

Morie froze when she saw it. Her nose twitched recognising a long-lost scent. Images of her mother flashed in her mind. It felt like her body was back up against the hospital wall as blood from her father sprayed around her.

Amon kept his voice level to shield his sorrow as he continued to speak. "It is the Masuda." Morie felt her breathing becoming shallower as he talked. "According to the researchers who crafted it although it was made from a rinkaku kagune, it exhibits properties of koukaku quinque. They had to use special equipment just to shape the blade due to how hard the kagune was."

She grabbed the handle and lifted it into the air. The weapon was extremely heavy despite its size and although the researcher did their best to craft it, the blade was so scrappy that she doubted it could ever be used as intended. The longer she held it the more confusion and panic bubbled up in her body.

"I have done what I came to do," said Amon as he slipped his shoes back on. He closed the door as quietly as he could before making his exit.

Once she was sure that the investigator had walked a few meters away from her apartment, Morie let out a breath her body was holding as her hands began to shake. Her mother was in her arms. It hadn't been like that since the day she died in that hospital. She couldn't stop the tears from flowing as she remembered her mother buried underneath the coarse hospital sheets, gnawing at her own knuckles.

Soon anger began to seep from her heart and around her body. They turned her into this. They turned her into a useless weapon. Her lips curled up into a snarl. Mado had this for ten years without even hinting that he had it in his possession then had the gall to gift wrap it to her. Morie clenched the machete tighter at the reminder of the man's bulging face.

Knock. Knock. She was interrupted from her thoughts as the knocking made it to her ears. Her mind irritated by the actions of the deceased investigator, Morie shoved the quinque back into the case and marched to the door.

When she opened it there were two people standing outside none of whom she recognised. The one she spied first was tall and thin. Perched on his nose was a set of round glasses that matched his dorky yet chipper appearance. Next to him stood a shorter girl with long straight hair and a blank stare. In her hands she gripped a notepad and pen.

"Greetings," said the boy. "I am Kiyama from the Occult Research Club and this here is Sankou." The boy gestured to the girl besides him.

Morie's eyes narrowed as she analysed the two people in front of her with a still expression.

"We noticed that you were not in class today so we have come to ask you here," Kiyama smiled. "This month's topic for the club is ghouls and thus we are conducting research on said topic."

Sanko flipped a few pages of her notepad before asking, "Have you seen Ken Kaneki eat?"

Taken aback by the question Morie flinched and gritted her teeth. "I have," she deadpanned.

"When and where?"

Morie shifted her hands that rested on the doorknob as her mind raced. She hadn't actually seen her friend eat anything but if these people were investigating ghouls… "He works in a café and has tested the food they serve there," she lied. "Now if you would leave me be please." Morie started to close the door.

"Please wait!" exclaimed Kiyama. "Do you mind showing us your research on ghouls?"

The door was promptly closed in their faces. Morie had have enough. Her back was hurting more from standing up and honestly, she just wanted to be left alone.

The two individuals outside just glanced at each other before Kiyama tried knocking again. Morie didn't respond instead choosing to lie back down on the couch as the movie began to play again.

Sanko flipped a few more pages before tapping the tip of the pen next to two names, Ken Kaneki and Morie Masuda. There was more research to conduct.

"Let's get down to business to defeat the Huns..." The sound of Morie lazily singing made it to Shirozumi's ears even though it was heavily muffled by her cheeks pressed against the fabric of the couch. Mulan was the 3rd movie she decided to watch that day and she was growing restless.

As the movie continued to play Morie sat up and let out a big yawn. With a stretch of her arms she cracked some of her bones that had locked up when she was curled up under the blanket before getting up. Her stomach rumbled.

Just as she turned on her coffee machine her phone buzzed. With a sigh she grabbed it off her desk only to see that Hide had sent her a message.

I'm outside let me in!

Morie inhaled deeply before exhaling slowly. As she approached the door, she rolled her eyes. Surely enough Hide was there grinning like an idiot and holding a plastic bag full of takeaway. It was late enough that the sky had darkened so his figure was only lit by the faint lights that lined the pathway.

"Long time no see," he chimed. "I brought you some dinner." The plastic bag was thrust at Morie as she begrudgingly backed away from the door and let Hide in.

Morie peered inside the bag as she walked to the kitchen. "Big Girl? Isn't that a you and Kaneki thing?"

"It was." Hide plopped himself on the couch as he noticed the TV. "Ooo Mulan. Nice."

"What do you want?" deadpanned Morie as she got out plates and cutlery. As she bent down to retrieve the plates, she noted that her back wasn't feeling as sore. There was hope that she would be able to attend classes tomorrow.

Hide raised a finger high. "Well first of all, I haven't seen you at campus or around Anteiku for the past few days and I can't help but think to myself that something had happened to you. I'll tell you this, Kaneki is becoming really popular around the café and people are asking for you." Two fingers were then raised. "Secondly, I am currently in the process of figuring out how to save the two of you from certain doom. Oh, sweet is that a quinque?"

"What now?" Morie's mouth hung slightly opened as she questioned her friend's words ignoring that he had seen the machete.

"Yeah so this group of people called ORC think you and Kaneki are ghouls which I mean you totally are but you guys don't want the world knowing!"

Realisation donned on Morie as she remembered the two people who questioned her at the door. "I told them that I saw Kaneki eat." She handed Hide a plate with his order on it before she sat down at the desk across from him.

"Well that's a start then." Hide started to cut up the hamburger steak. "Speaking of which." He placed his cutlery down and reached into a pocket. There was soon a flash as he snapped a picture of Morie with a piece of lettuce in her mouth. "You should be fine now. It's Kaneki I'm worried about."

Morie bared her teeth at him before sighing and returning to her meal. "Listen here, Nagachika," she spat his name. "You can't just come in here and waltz around. Hey, don't you dare touch that!"

Hide was reaching for the machete. Morie leapt from her seat and grabbed his arm with both of her hands just before he could brush against the blade. Her eyes transformed into kakugan as she stared at him, heavily breathing before she falling to her knees.

"Woah, what was that for?" Hide gasped before leaning over Morie. "Aha, I knew something happened to you!"

She looked up at him as her kakugan faded, panting. "If you want to know, I got stabbed in the back by Kaneki." Before Hide could make a comment about her wording she added, "Literally, not figuratively."

Hide let out a low whistle as Morie picked herself up and began to eat again.

"Look, I'm not going to touch it but why do you have a quinque?" he asked as he too continued to eat.

"It's Mum…" replied the woman as she looked at it. "Well I should say that it was part of my mother. The investigator that was killed a few days ago left it for me in his will."

Hide didn't attempt to crack a joke as they both finished their dinners. He was the one to take the dirtied plates into the kitchen where he rinsed them in the sink. Before he sat down again, he reached into the backpack he carried with him. He flashed a book at Morie titled No Longer Human. "Kaneki told me to give you this for you to borrow."

Morie took it from his hands and analysed the cover. "Osamu Dazai. Even someone like you should know that name."

"I had to read the book once in high school," Hide told her before scratching his cheek. "Well… I read the first section…"

She opened the book and looked at the contents page. Nestled in between the pages was a packaged bamboo bookmark. It was simple enough. It just looked like a tag with pieces cut of out it to form a geometric pattern. There even was a cord attached to it with a small glass bead hanging at the end. As she placed it between her fingers, Morie looked at the thin plastic bag it was slid in. Inside was a slip of paper which had been folded so it would fit alongside the bookmark in the packaging.

Once Hide announced that he needed to use the bathroom and disappeared away from sight she carefully took the note out and began to read the neat handwriting.

As an apology for what happened I am gifting you this bookmark along with letting you borrow this book. It once belonged to my father so be careful with it. I saw the bookmark when Touka and I took Hinami to the library. She seems to enjoy it there. Let me know when you are better so we can buy you clothes to replace the ones I destroyed.

Ken Kaneki

"Hey, Morie mind explaining why this was in the bathtub?"

Quickly Morie hid the letter back in the book as she spun her chair around to meet Hide. Hanging from his hand was her mask. Dried blood was visible around the gap in between the lower and upper halves. She knew the inside was full of it too.

"I need to clean that."

"You sure as hell do! What if an investigator walked in and just saw it there?"

"Good point." She walked up to Hide and took it from his grip. He watched as she held it up to the light and looked at the shining metal beak. "The CCG is calling me Vulture apparently. Kaneki is Eyepatch. We both have low ratings as of now so we aren't high targets."

Hide pointed a finger at his friend. "Keep it that way, alright?"

Morie scoffed in response. "You think we want to die? The only reason we were seen was because we were saving a little girl."

Hide sighed. "I know I can't join you two on your ghoul adventures but that doesn't mean that I don't worry about you guys. Here." He gestured for Morie to hand the mask back to him. "I'll put it back for you but in all seriousness, you need to clean it asap."

She complied.

Once everything was sorted the two of them sat back down. Morie lifted Shirozumi from its cage and handed the mouse to Hide who watched it run across his fingers as Mulan played in the background. When the movie ended, he bid Morie goodbye and left for the night. Not long after, Morie also turned in for the night.

**Author's Note:**

**Gekan: The gekan is the place in a Japanese home where you take off your shoes and it is located at the entrance. Normally there is a small step that leads to the other areas of the house.**

**No Longer Human: A book written by Osamu Dazai who is one of Japan's best know authors. The story is broken up into three different sections detailing different aspects of Oba Yozo's (the main character) life as he spirals into despair. It's a rather fitting book for Kaneki to own not just because of the title but because of the themes of the story.**


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13**

Today was the day that Morie returned to Anteiku after being held up in her apartment. She had the chance to go the day prior after she attended a lecture on the chemical functions of the body but decided against it when a person accidentally bumped into her which sent waves of pain up her spine.

Just as the bell announcing her entrance rang everyone looked up at her and she became as still as a statue. It just so happened to be that at that time everyone in Anteiku was a ghoul. One by one some of the customers came up to her.

"I thought you were human the entire time!" some random man said to her as he began patting her on the back. Morie just stood there glancing around the café. She made eye contact with Kaneki who gave here a sheepish grin before sliding into the kitchen out of sight until the scene had quieted down a bit. The register was left to Yoshimura. "Fighting off a Dove. You have some guts," the guy continued.

At that comment her eyes darted to him and she grabbed his wrist firmly. All that patting was aggravating her back. "That's not what happened," she stated harshly but her tone changed slightly with her next sentence. "I do however appreciate the praise but unfortunately I am still recovering from my wounds and thus would like time to myself." She released the man's wrist with a forced smile.

Hearing this the ghouls around her began to back away making room for Morie to walk up to the counter. Yoshimura smiled at her as she told the elder ghoul her order. Digging into her pockets, Morie grabbed a handful of loose yen coins and began counting the 480yen which was needed before giving up and placing a single 500yen coin down instead. With careful movements Yoshimura printed the receipt and handed it to Morie. Two 10yen coins held it down.

A moment later Morie took her usual seat and waited for her coffee to come. Whilst she waited her phone caught her attention as she scrolled through pages of articles. It was only when a cup was placed in front of her, she glanced up. Kaneki stood there with a soft smile.

"Do you mind if I join you?" he asked. "The Manager told me to take a break."

Morie gestured for her friend to sit. Kaneki slid the chair out and gracefully took a seat. At the same time Morie put away her phone and watched his movements.

After taking a sip of the coffee and flinching due to the heat, Morie spoke. "I thank you for the book and the bookmark."

Kaneki's smile widened. "I'm glad you like them." He tilted his head down as his smile faded. "I'm sorry about what happened."

"You already have apologised. Although I am serious when I say that I want new clothes. Nothing fancy, just an outfit to replace the other one." She took another sip as he raised his head.

It was at this point in time that the café's door slammed open. Everyone in the area looked in that direction. In the doorframe stood Touka. Her hair looked windswept and her chest puffed in and out at an uneven pace. As the girl marched up to the table near the stairs both Kaneki and Morie glanced at each other, eyebrows knitted together in confusion.

"Hey, you two!" Touka slammed her hands down on the table with a _thunk_. Morie was thankful that she was holding her cup rather than having it on the saucer because if it were on the table some of it would have been spilled. "You're coming with me."

"You can at least call us by our names," muttered Kaneki as he rolled his eyes but begrudgingly got up and walked over to Yoshimura.

Morie's eyes narrowed as she glanced at Touka who stood there cross armed. She began gulping down the coffee. "So, what do you need us for?"

"Look, I just need your help," Touka huffed as Kaneki returned with his bag holding his belongings.

Seeing this Morie gulped down the rest of her coffee before placing the empty cup back on the saucer and picking up her bag.

They walked out into the street and wind immediately started to ruffle their hair. It was just that time of the year when autumn was turning into winter. The air had gotten chillier and it would continue to get colder until eventually snow would begin to pile up. Touka was determined to push her way through the gusts of wind with a hurry.

"Where are we going?" asked Kaneki as he too tried his best to fight the wind.

"Just shut up. We are nearly there already!"

"We better be," growled Morie, hands clutching the strap of her bag as they began to shiver.

Sure enough, in a matter of minutes the trio found themselves at the entrance of a large supermarket. Immediately they entered. The entrance was pretty standard. There were shelves and open fridges full of the latest seasonal fruits, vegetables, tofu, meats and dairy products. Nestled in behind that were freezers hosting more vegetables and meats but Morie knew it well for being the place she could pick up ice-cream. Of course, there were isles containing grains, cleaning products, snacks and other items. There was even an area out near the registers where flowers, cards and seasonal products were being displayed.

"Really?" Morie said as she turned towards Touka.

The ghoul in question stood still before glaring back at Morie. Just being in a space full of human food made her want to throw up. "YES! Now tell me what I need to buy to make lunch."

Kaneki started to chuckle whilst Morie was fighting the urge to rub the bridge of her nose.

"Do you even know what you want to cook?" Kaneki questioned as he flicked away a tear from his visible eye.

Touka gave him a light smack over his head. "Don't laugh at me." She then looked at the ground. "I was hoping you two would be able to tell me…"

Morie raised her hands up into the air in a mock surrender. "You shouldn't be asking me. I grew up on being fed school lunches that the CCG prepared. It was along the lines of rice with steamed vegetables, soups and bread. I was given full, warm meals."

"That sounds like what I ate in elementary and junior high." Kaneki placed his chin on a clenched fist as he pondered. Eventually an idea hit him when he spied a rack of magazines. "Why don't we look over there for recipes?" he suggested.

"Fine. Whatever."

The trio walked up to the rack and began to flick through magazines. There just happened to be multiple magazines detailing recipes for lunchboxes. Kaneki was the first to find them and notified everyone else.

As they turned the pages Touka kept showcasing recipes accompanied by the colourful photo of the finished cooked item. "I don't want this. It's too mushy and will stick in my mouth." This time she showed an image of hash browns.

"What about this?" Kaneki countered as he showed her instructions for asparagus wrapped in bacon.

It went back and forth like this until a list of five dishes were made; fried chicken, omelettes, battered fish, assorted sandwiches and the asparagus.

Because Morie was carrying her university supplies with her, she had her notebook and pens with her which allowed her to jot down all the ingredients. As she did so Kaneki walked off to get a basket. When he returned Morie placed the magazines containing the recipes into it. Touka just watched the two of them work although her impatience was growing.

"Where should we begin?" pondered Kaneki.

Morie took the basket from him to save the boy the trouble of carrying it. "I suppose we should begin with the vegetables. Touka follow me." Morie gestured for the girl to follow her.

Once they stood near a section containing lettuce Morie bent down and picked a head up. She showed it to Touka. "People, when shopping, inspect the fresh produce before deciding what to buy. Look here." She pointed to the lettuce. "This one isn't good. There are brown patches around the leaves." Morie then directed Touka to choose the vegetables explaining that it was a vital skill.

Eventually the trio made it to the register. Touka took out her purse and paid for everything. As the basket full of paid items was slid back to them, it came to their attention that other than Kaneki and Morie's bags which were already pretty full, they didn't have any bags that they could put the items in. So, they settled on carting them in their arms until they reached Touka's apartment.

Along the way Kaneki looked down at the items in his arms and noticed a small cardboard box labelled gelatine. "Um, why do we have gelatine? It wasn't an ingredient on the list."

"I want to make something too," replied Morie. In her own arms, buried underneath potato starch and bread she held a jar of instant coffee. "It should be something that the two of you should enjoy if my theory is correct."

Touka shot the woman a cold look. "So, you snuck that in? Are there any other secret items I should know about?"

"No."

The walk was a relatively short one. Arriving at an apartment complex, Touka showed them to an elevator. She pressed a floor button with her elbow and they were soon standing in front of Touka's front door. Everyone's hands were unavailable at the time to unlock the door so Touka simply kicked it. "Hinami, it's me. Open the door," exclaimed Touka.

A few seconds passed before some rustling was heard and the door creaked open. Morie could see the small frame of Hinami's through the crack. Upon seeing Touka's companions, the girl opened the door wider with a grin. "Brother Kaneki and Aunty Morie!"

The girl backed away from the door and let everyone enter. Due to how small the gekan was everyone had to enter one at a time. Hinami being the ever so kind girl started taking ingredients into the kitchen whilst people took off their shoes.

Just as Morie joined Kaneki and Touka in the kitchen Hinami sprung upon her with a hug. Kaneki had already been hugged by her when he entered the living space.

"It's good to see you too. I've heard you went to the library." Morie with a shaky hand patted her soft brown hair.

Hinami looked up at her. "Yeah, I have and all the books are amazing."

"That's nice. Mind releasing me now?"

With that Hinami unwrapped her hands from around Morie's waist and leaned on the counter. "So, what's all this?"

"I'm going out tomorrow," said Touka as she started sorting out the items. She passed the magazines to Kaneki. "so, I am making lunch for a friend and I."

Hinami tilted her head to the side. "Lunches?"

"Yeah," Kaneki nodded before turning to Touka. "We should start soon if we want everything to be prepared by tomorrow." He pushed his sleeves up and both Touka and Morie followed suit.

It was cramped inside the kitchen but everyone seemed to manage. Kaneki took the role of showing Touka how to properly cook whilst Morie started working on preparing the sandwiches because they were simple enough to do. Hinami watched with fascination and whenever the magazines weren't needed, she borrowed them to read.

The chicken and fish took the longest to make as a marinade need to be made along with battering. Frying them was a bit of a challenge too as Morie needed access to the oven just as Touka attempted to fish out the bits of chicken.

Despite the space and chaos created by having Touka learn to cook, the three of them pulled through and managed to get all of the dishes made and placed in lunchboxes. Once there was once piece of chicken remaining, Kaneki enticed by the look of the chicken took a piece between his fingers and popped it in his mouth. Immediately, there were coughs and gags.

"You idiot! What did you think would happen, huh?" Touka's harsh words berated his ears but she reached for a piece of paper towel, ripped a square off and handed it to Kaneki.

Hinami concerned by the noises put down her book and ran up to Kaneki who was kneeling on the ground, aggressively wiping his tongue with the paper towel.

"It looked so nice… I-it's awful! The batter tastes like mulch that had been dragged through slime and the meat was like eating a giant earthworm."

"Glad to see you're poetic when suffering," Morie said dryly before handing him a glass of water which he instantly started gulping down viciously.

Morie opened the fridge and took out a tray containing opaque, brown jelly. Earlier that day when scrolling through her phone she happened across a recipe for coffee jelly. Although the instructions called for half a cup of sugar, Morie when making it didn't include it. After grabbing a knife, she cut a square for Kaneki.

"Here. It may or may not help."

Kaneki took it with unsteady hands. His face was still warped with disgust from eating the chicken. He placed it on his tongue. The taste of coffee flooded is senses. "That actually tastes nice."

"Good to know you can eat gelatine. Does anyone want dessert?" Morie offered as she cut some more squares. "It's coffee jelly."

Hinami left Kaneki's side and peeked at the jelly with curiosity. Morie slid a bowl over to her along with a spoon. The girl took a bite then instantly grinned. "Brother Kaneki is right," she beamed.

Touka gestured for a bowl too and Morie complied. Soon everyone was sitting around a table each with a bowl full off coffee jelly in front of them.

"It's a simple recipe," explained Morie as she lazily balanced her spoon on her index finger. "You just use instant coffee dissolved in water and add gelatine. Stir and wait for it to set. There should still be some left for you and your friend, Touka."

After they finished eating, Touka and Morie worked together to wash up the dishes whilst Kaneki talked to a sleepy Hinami about books. After everything was dried and put away Morie excused herself from the apartment and walked home in the dark and cold night.

"So how was the lunch?" asked Morie when she next saw Touka.

Touka stopped wiping down an empty table and looked at Morie for a brief second. "Fine."

"That's nice."

Morie stretched her arms. An evening of studying and report writing really did make her joints lock up.

"Do you need any help closing the store?" Morie offered. "I could use the movement."

"Nah, when Koma comes down he'll clean everything else."

"Very well," said Morie as she left the bright café and into the dim streets of the 20th Ward.

Most days it was like this. She would wake up, attend her university classes then go to Anteiku for the day until the café closed. Occasionally, she would mix it up a bit and studied in her laboratory space but she would almost always make time to visit Anteiku.

BANG!

The loud sound echoed through the normally quite streets, making Morie jump. As she looked around, she saw orange sparks coming from an alleyway. Morie sprinted towards the area but her body hit something sturdy and she fell to the ground. Her body was soon yanked upwards as she started to regain some of her senses.

"No time. Just run." The voice was familiar. Underneath tones of seriousness there was a chipper voice buried.

Morie blinked her eyes a few times before she gazed upon the green jacket of the boy tugging her along the streets. His bright blonde hair bounced up and down with each step he took. "H-Hide! What are you do-"

Her question was cut short as scream pierced the area. Barrelling out of the alleyway and crushing a lamp post was a ghoul. His face was warped with rage and disgust and behind him whipped his bikaku kagune. Morie recognised the man. She had recently seen him in Anteiku although she didn't know his name. "NAGACHIKA!" he roared.

Hide let go of Morie's arm. "Contact the CCG or something!"

"Fine, just follow me."

Morie ran past Hide just enough so that she was in the lead. She pulled Hide around a corner just as the kagune slammed into the ground.

They continued to run until off in the distance Morie spied two investigators clad in white. She made a shrill whistle to catch their attention.

"It's a ghoul," exclaimed one of the two as they rushed towards the male ghoul, quinques already out. In an instance the ghoul's body was stabbed and sliced. Pathetic screams and pleas sounded but nobody answered them.

It was a swift death.

Morie vanished into the shadows of a nearby park not wanting to stick around. Hide had the same idea as he took refuge on a childish spring rocker.

"What was all that about?" huffed Morie as she leaned over Hide's body.

Hide flashed a grin before laughing. Wiping a tear away from his eye, he looked back up at the woman. "About to become a meal it seemed."

"I'm serious." Her eyes narrowed.

"Fine. Fine." He lifted his arms up in a mock surrender. "You know that ORC organisation? Well some of the members were going to spy on Kaneki tonight."

"He doesn't work at Anteiku at this time."

"I know, right!?" Hide cleared his throat. "Anyway, turns out that one of the, Cain, was a ghoul and wanted to eat me. So, I just blasted some bottle rockets and shoved a rice ball and meat pie into his mouth."

"You what?"

"Blasted rocket bottles and shoved a rice ball and meat pie into his mouth," Hide repeated.

Morie turned her back to him and started pacing. "At least you didn't die," she said with a soft voice.

"Now if you excuse me," Hide clumsily got off the spring rocker. "Kaneki still isn't out of the woods yet. See ya." He waved goodbye as he left the park leaving Morie dumbfounded.

Morie walked through the halls of the history wing of Kamii University. Her lecture for the day had just finished and Hide texted her saying that he and Kaneki were also finishing up. The area was foreign to her. Instead of white hallways reminiscent of hospitals, the walls were darker and the floor was made of wood. In all honesty she thought it looked as if a stage was a hallway.

"Cain is Adam and Eve's son. He killed Abel, his brother, out of jealousy." Kaneki's soft voice made it to Morie's ears as she saw him and Hide walk through a door. "Are you sure you haven't been reading the bible?"

"Positive." Hide placed his hands behind his head, elbows out. "And, hey, look it's Morie. No need to talk about nerdy book-y stuff now."

Morie shook her head. "That so called 'nerdy book-y stuff' happens to be interesting." She held out _No Longer Human_ in front of Kaneki. "Thank you once again for letting me borrow it. Dazai's works are truly fascinating."

Kaneki took the book from Morie, took his bag off his shoulders, bent down to the ground and unzipped it. "I'm glad. Is there another book you wish to read?"

"No thank you. Because I missed some lectures, I have been busy catching up."

"Let me know if that changes." He carefully placed the book in the bag. Before he could zip it up, Hide interrupted.

"Alright, I'm changing the topic." Hide opened his own bag and started taking out handfuls of snacks. There was pocky, melon bread, KitKats and many more items that were smaller in size that Morie couldn't identify at a glance. She and Kaneki wondered how much space he reserved just for these items. "You, my dear bestest friend Kaneki are always so gloomy so take all of these."

Kaneki fumbled to hold onto a Hi-Chew bar tossed at him. "Um, I-I can't really carry all of these in my bag…"

"Sure, you can," Hide smiled as he lifted Kaneki's bag off the ground. "Here, I'll do it for you."

Kaneki gave a defeated sigh as Hide began stuffing the snacks inside it. Morie hung her head and said nothing. Eventually, her eyes drifted to Hide's packing. Something was up. What looked like stuffing was really Hide lying down the boxes on top of Kaneki's belongings. His pencil case, papers and notebooks were hidden beneath all the snacks.

"All done."

Hide held the bag out to Kaneki who wore a puzzled expression. Just as Kaneki was about to grasp it, Hide dropped the bag. The zipper wasn't fully zipped so as it landed Kaneki's poor belongings scattered everywhere. Even his plastic pencil case had opened upon impact which made his pencils and pens roll.

"I'm so sorry," gasped Hide as he bent down to start picking up everything.

Kaneki looked at Hide with sorrow and confusion mixed in his eyes. His flurried movements toward the novel made it clear to Morie that he cared for it more than anything else he had in the bag. Morie too began to assist with the clean-up. Because the scene was in the middle of a hallway the other students walked around them with glances of interest.

As the final items were placed back into the bag, a dorky boy and long-haired girl watched from afar. The boy pushed up his round glasses before turning to his companion. After a few words passed between them, the girl took out a notepad and crossed off the last name on it -Ken Kaneki.

Out of the corner of her eye, Morie saw the two students walk off. 'Hide's timing is impeccable,' she thought to herself as Hide flashed her a wink.

**Author's Note:**

**Japanese School Lunches: So elementary and junior high schools in Japan have a thing called kyuushoku (****給食****). These meals are served as lunch to the students and are rather special in comparison to other school meals one may have in other countries because they were designed by in school nutritionists. That's right these Japanese schools have their own nutritionists. Most of these meals include rice, vegetables, meat and soups.**


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 15**

**Author's Note:**

**We're back at it again with writing this fic! I ended up taking a bit of a break from it just due to being a bit busy with uni and a bit unmotivated due to what I consider slow scenes but hey, I have had the restaurant scene planned out in my head for ages so expect that to come up soon.**

**On another note Morie is now being used in another fanfiction titled Tokyo Ghoul Root QX. The story is written by President Haise and is an AU fic. A link to it is here so just copy and paste it into your browser - s/11821233/7/Tokyo-Ghoul-Root-QX**

**Onto the story~!**

"Model Misono Karube was reported wandering throughout the streets of Tokyo last night before she succumbed to blood loss. Multiple eye witnesses stated that her eyes had been taken out. Currently, this is thought to be the work of the Gourmet ghoul based on criminal profile. We now have Doctor Hisashi Ogura here to bring us more information about the motives and reasoning behind this attack."

The workers Anteiku were casually listening to the television with interest. From the corner of her eye Morie saw Touka glance upwards from wiping down the bench with a slight frown plastered to her face but she paid it no heed. The droning voice of Ogura sprouting what Morie thought was idiotic assumptions mixed in with half-truths was growing dull in the room.

That all changed when the bell to the café rang open.

Although the television was still sounding all eyes were upon the newcomer who posed by the door with a hand carefully resting upon his blue fringe. The man deeply inhaled. "What a lovely aroma. Yet as I thought, this place has really calmed down. Such a shame." True to the man's words Anteiku at this time of day only had a single customer who was hidden behind a large potted plant situated near the door.

At the sight of the man Kaneki did his usual customer greeting in a chipper voice somewhat excited that he wouldn't be causally waiting around anymore due to lack of customers.

The man simply raised a hand in response but otherwise ignored the boy instead choosing to step closer to Touka who looked like she was quickly having her energy drained. "Greetings Kirishima."

"What do you want?" grumbled Touka.

Morie glanced up and watched the man with interest through narrow eyes. Kaneki just looked on with curiosity.

"Oh, non. Why can't I just come here to gaze upon your faces for a while? I see you are as cold as ever, Kirishima but I suppose that's what makes you appealing."

Touka just turned her face away, muttered something under her breath and returned to wiping down the bench.

As Morie watched she noticed the customer slowly get up from their chair, slide behind the man and swiftly slink out of the café trying to be as stealthy as possible. The bell by the door didn't aid in that though but everyone except Morie was busy staring at the man dressed in vibrant clothing. At this movement she too got up and stepped closer towards Kaneki, fingers deep in her pockets fingering the cold steel of her scalpel.

The man had the same idea as he noticed Kaneki's eyepatch. A grin appeared on his face as he flourished his arms. "Ah, the fabled Eyepatch. Such a pleasure! I don't assume- And I have been proven incorrect." He spun his body to face Morie who looked at him with tired eyes. Upon seeing Morie's state of dress and unkept hair he sighed and shook his head. "Such as shame someone like yourself doesn't look at the mirror… If you took the time you could look si magnifique."

Morie chose not to say anything in response.

The man turned back to Kaneki and began to zip around the boy standing as stiff as a statue. "On the other hand, you dear Kaneki was it; You look much more delicate than I expected." He leaned in closer before Morie grabbed one of Kaneki's arms and tugged him behind her.

Touka seeing these actions cried out from behind the counter as she rinsed the cloth in her hands. "You're in the way and you are creepy so just hurry up and go away."

The man glanced at the huffing Touka before placing a hand on Kaneki's shoulder as he walked back. "Perhaps we shall see each other again over coffee. We shall meet again, Kaneki." He paused and turned his head towards Morie. "You as well Masuda."

Morie clenched the scalpel harder as the man casually walked out of the store.

After the bell finished ringing Morie took her hands out of her pockets. "Who was that ghoul Touka?"

Throwing the cloth down into the sink Touka growled. "Someone you two need to stay away from. A nuisance to the 20th Ward. Shu Tsukiyama the Gourmet."

By this point the news had already finished the report a long time ago but the coverage was playing through Morie's mind. The man was clearly dangerous, needlessly so and she knew his face and knew his name so it wouldn't be hard to just turn him into the CCG but the name Tsukiyama danced around in her head. She had heard the name before for numerous things but remembered it the most from the labels on chemicals she saw around laboratories. Food, metals, chemicals and investments were all funded in some part by the Tsukiyama family. If something were to happen to the family there would be huge economic consequences.

Morie grit her teeth and walked up to the bench. "I need a coffee…"

Morie was just about to get ready for bed when her phone buzzed to life on the desk. It had been placed there when she got back from her university lectures in order to charge so when she lazily strode over to it, she had to fumble to unplug the cable. Before tapping to answer it, she glanced down at the name shining across the screen. She let out a "tch" before answering. "What do you want, Nishiki?"

The voice on the other end was breathing heavily and the words that he managed to say were shaky. "Please help. I need you to come to my apartment."

"Last time I saw you, you nearly killed me. Why should I help you now?"

"It's Kimi…"

Morie's eyes scanned the books on her floating bookshelf as she thought. Sure, she knew Kimi but after watching what happened with Nishiki she didn't know if she could trust the ghoul any more. It was only when she heard Nishiki whispering hushed words of comfort did Morie make up her mind. "Fine. I'll come. Do you need medical supplies?"

"Yes, and hurry."

Nishiki's voice was cut off as Morie hung up and sighed. She looked at a sleeping Shirozumi before snatching the bottle filled with a few RC tablets then took a few steps towards into her kitchen. After rummaging around in a few shelves, she located the white first aid box. She placed it on the bench before undoing the flip lock and looking inside. Moire usually made it a point of keeping medical supplies ready on hand in case something happened so it was stockpiled with numerous bandages, gauzes, disinfectants, an instant cold pack and medical tools like tweezers and scissors. Checking she had everything she needed, Morie grabbed the last item on her medical list, her dissection kit, and left the building with a quick step.

Navigating a few blocks away from her apartment Morie eventually made it to Nishiki's abode. Her knuckles tapped a few times on the door before she opened it with a creak. The first thing Morie noticed as she stepped inside was that the place reeked of blood. The metallic tang permeated the air so much that even the numerous cans of coffee could not stop her from smelling it.

"Nishiki," she called out as she stepped towards a door with a soft light coming out of it. "I'm here."

As soon as Moire turned the corner to enter Nishiki's bedroom she was greeted with two crying figures. Nishiki was covered in crimson but most of it was not his own and it was smeared across his mouth. The blood mostly came from the woman he was with. Positioned against the side of Nishiki's bed was Kimi face wrenched in pain as she tried to calmly breathe and stop the tears of pain from flowing. Pressed against her shoulder was a grey towel that was quickly turning red.

Morie rushed to their side and placed her medical equipment down. "What happened?" She then shoved the RC tablet bottle into one of Nishiki's hands and took over pressing the towel down. "Have two of these then tell me. Kimi don't talk."

The woman in pain just nodded her head as she continued to hold back her hisses whilst Nishiki unscrewed the lid of the bottle and tipped out all the contents. Only two of the tablets were held in his palm before he threw his head back and swallowed. Due to Morie's medalling he knew what they were after all she had used him in order to gain access to the equipment in order to compress the cells into tablets in the first place.

"Get me some warm water and extra towels if you have them, "instructed Morie seeing that Nishiki had taken the tablets. Following the woman's orders Nishiki silently got up and walked away to retrieve the requested items. Whilst he was gone Morie spoke again. "Assuming Nishiki bit you, where is the injury?"

"Trapezius muscle up near the neck," Kimi informed as she hissed through the pain.

Morie's eyebrows knitted together as she applied more pressure. Blood was creeping onto her hands and due to how close she was to it her eyes started to turn black and red. Kimi noticed and let out a silent gasp just as Nishiki wandered back in with the requested items. As he knelt down beside the women, he noticed Morie's eyes. "What the hell happened to you? You're human"

"Correction; I was born human. It's a long story and not something I want to explain now. Take over for me whilst I wash my hands."

Morie got up once the swap was complete and washed her hands in Nishiki's kitchen sink. She made sure to scrub in between the gaps of her fingers and underneath her uneven nails. The soap bubbled and frothed as she did so before all the suds were washed down the drain. The paper towel lying sideways on the windowsill was used to dry them before she headed back into the bedroom.

Kneeling next to Nishiki and Kimi again Morie dragged the medicine kit, extra towels and bowl of water closer. The first aid kit was opened and she pulled out the gauze, disinfectant cream and a needle and thread. "I need you to remove the towel from her shoulder."

"Are you crazy? The bleeding hasn't stopped yet though," said Nishiki

"I gathered but there isn't much else we can do unless we take her to a hospital but I may be able to stitch it up and dress it."

Nishiki looked at Kimi with concerned eyes. She gave him a nod and slowly he removed the towel he was holding to her shoulder. The area was caked in blood and more was seeping out as Morie examined the wound. Two curved lines were pierced into Kimi's neck and Morie was taken slightly aback. "You didn't actually eat her," she mumbled to herself but both of her companions picked up on it.

"Didn't need it," wheezed Nishiki as he clutched his stomach.

Morie glanced at him as he lent with his back against a wall as he sighed. A red patch was blooming from underneath his crossed arms. She turned focus back to Kimi as she began to use her hands to scoop water over the bite. Kimi tried her best not to squirm at the sensation and pain.

"I assume the injury Kaneki gave you is still healing, Nishiki? If so, I am surprised you are still alive," Morie said as she poured more water.

Nishiki just snorted in response.

Kimi's brown eyes met Morie's. "You knew what happened and you didn't tell me?" Kimi's words oozed with worry and stress.

"I was there," Morie replied. "I didn't inform you because it wouldn't have mattered either way." She finished washing the bite and began to dab it dry with the towel.

"I could have done something so Nishiki wouldn't have ended up like this!" Kimi's breathing began to get heavier and shallower. "I-I could have brought him food so his injuries would be able to heal."

Morie said nothing but her stare hardened. A hand drifted down to feel for the tweezers, needle and thread and once she had them in her hands, she fiddled to pass the clear thread through the eye of the needle. Once it was ready, she used both of her hands to steadily pull the skin closer together. A numbing ointment wasn't used so with every stitch Morie made Kimi had to bite her lip to try and distract herself. After she was done Morie used the scissors and cut the thread. The next thing to do was to apply the disinfectant cream and once it was thickly applied Morie cut a square of gauze, pressed it firmly against the wound then stuck it to Kimi's body with medial tape.

"You know what to do for the next few weeks," Morie said as she started to wash her hands and the needle in the bowl of water. "Take the spare bandage and gauze. I will buy new ones for myself." She shifted her body to face Nishiki. "Whilst I'm here I might as well look at you too."

The ghoul just looked at her grit teeth. "You left me to die already why do anything now?" he spat.

"It wasn't my fault you decided to be a dick that day. Now lift up your shirt so I can look. The tablets I gave you earlier should start helping."

"Fine." With a grunt he shifted his arms and took off his shirt revealing a bloodied mess in the centre of his abdomen. From what Morie could see most of the scarlet was due to blood that seeped from the wound whenever he accidentally reopened it. Any blood that did come from it was soon stopped due to the ghoul's above human clotting agents. For the most part though it was healing just very slowly.

"You'll live," Moire said as she picked up her belongings and stood up. "You just need to eat."

"And how do you think I can do that, huh?"

Morie looked at Kimi before looking Nishiki dead in the eyes. "Anteiku."

"I don't need sympathy from them!" growled Nishiki. "Figures that you'd be in contact with them now too."

Kimi shifted her weight. "Can I do anything?"

Morie sighed as her eyes narrowed. "If the CCG found you, they would most likely imprison you for life just for harbouring a ghoul." At this Nishiki scowled. "I wouldn't do anything drastic. Leave Nishiki to his own pride."

With a stretch and a yawn Morie exited leaving the couple and made her way home.

"So theoretically a white van just pulls up besides you and the window scrolls down. Inside is some shady guy offering you something, anything for you to get. What would he offer you?" Hide had just ambushed Morie as she stepped out of Kamii University's laboratory space and was escorting her through the halls until he had to run for his next lecture which was in the next ten minutes.

"No matter what the man would say I wouldn't enter," was Morie's unenthusiastic reply. "I would know that it would be a trap and thus wouldn't get in."

Hide shook his head. "You're no fun sometimes you know that right? Anyway, for me I think it would have to be an early access to a CD."

"You are saying you would risk your life for trashy rock?" Morie's shoulders sunk as she sighed. "Didn't your mum ever read Little Red Riding Hood to you?"

"Well about that…" Hide started nervously scratching his temple.

Morie froze as she looked out the window. As Hide began to ramble she ignored it all as just a muffled noise. Her eyes were fixated on a tall man strolling down the brick path lined with tables and trees providing shade. His perfectly combed hair framed his perfect face and he was walking up to the table she wished he wasn't venturing towards. It just so happened to be that Kaneki was there with a cup of coffee he ordered from the nearby university café and he was blissfully holding a book.

"Shit," Morie swore before biting the bottom of her lip. "He probably looks tasty or something…"

Hide turned and faced her, smile fading from his face due to the woman's actions.

"I'll be back. I need to stop a wolf."

With that she left Hide alone in the hallway as she marched towards the door that would take her into the courtyard. Pushing the glass doors open that snapped back with a bang, Morie felt the soft breeze and sun on her face. Her eyes scanned the environment until they locked onto the table Kaneki was sitting at. Shuu Tsukiyama had already taken a seat across from Kaneki. She inhaled and exhaled deeply before marching over.

Upon seeing Morie Kaneki smiled. "Have your classes finished? If so, why don't you join us?" Kaneki offered.

Without saying a word Morie took a seat beside Kaneki and started watching the man.

Tsukiyama put on a forced smile. "Bonne après-midi, Miss Masuda. I don't believe I have told you my name. I am Shuu Tsukiyama and it is a pleasure to make your acquaintance once again."

Morie crossed her arms. "What are you doing here?"

Kaneki looked at Morie. "We were just talking about books. You don't need to be rude."

"Books…" Morie's eyes darted to the book Kaneki was reading. It was a simple book on the basics of martial arts. She asked if she could have a look inside, was granted permission and started flipping through the pages. Diagrams showcasing fighting stances along with step by step guides explaining how to do axe kicks and grapples met her eyes. She made a note to actually show him how to do some of these when they both had some free time.

Tsukiyama with elegance cleared his throat. "As I was saying when reading a book one can become deeply immersed into a new world and can help distract oneself from the pain of their real lives. I myself have experienced such a thing as novels supported me through times of strife. For example, take Takatsuki's books; although dark and bleak her spectacular wordsmithing crafts an environment one can't help but be sucked into."

Kaneki throughout all of this Kaneki remained silent but as the man in front of him continued to talk about his favourite author a soft smile appeared. Even Morie looked up out of curiosity. She had never really read books to escape from reality but she certainly found interest in the themes they explored. Hysteria from The Crucible was just one example along with power in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. The themes just expanded the way she thought about the world. They challenged everything the world had to offer and the words of Franz Kafka came to her. "''If the book we're reading doesn't wake us up with a blow to the head, what are we reading for?''" she quoted gazing Tsukiyama in the eyes.

"But of course, people read for knowledge and confrontation too Masuda," exclaimed Tsukiyama with a slight flourish of his hands. "I happened to have heard that both of you like the work of Sen Takatsuki and by just having me talk about her I can see has intrigued both of you. A favourite place of mine in which I visit somewhat frequently is said to be a place where Tatatsuki is often sited."

At this comment Kaneki perked up with an excited gasp and a smile. Morie continued listening as her heart was slowly starting to beat faster.

Tsukiyama continued. "The owner has a collection of old books that he allows customers to read as they sip their coffee. Everything just blends together in harmony." He extended his arms and softened his eyes. "Surely if you are interested Kaneki, we could go there some time to recommend books. The proposal must also please you, Miss Masuda?"

Morie said nothing as Kaneki smiled in contemplation. Seeing this Tsukiyama let out a sad sigh and frowned. "I see from your looks that Kirishima said something about me. Whilst it's true that I am a gourmet it seems that my interests only serve to push others like yourselves away. I am afraid that the other people I interact with hold no interest in books or culture and the only one that I could find was Rize Kamishiro but she died just a few months ago. From you at least Kaneki I get a similar feeling I got from her. All I want is a friend and a quite space in which I can discuss the things I like in." With another sad sigh he lifted himself out of his seat. "My sincerest apologies for disturbing you two. I'll be taking my leave now."

Kaneki and Morie were left sitting at the table in silence. Kaneki was the first to move after looking down at his coffee and thinking. Morie on the other hand was hoping he wouldn't do what she thought he was about to do. Kaneki jolted up from his seat and ran up to Tsukiyama. Morie's jointed tensed up as she grit her teeth. All Kaneki needed now was a red hood to go along with his actions. She ended up reluctantly joining him in accepting Tsukiyama's offer.

**Author's Note:**

**Trapezius: This is the name of the muscle that makes up most of the back of your neck and goes down between your shoulder blades. It is made up of three sections an upper, mid and lower part and in addition to that assists in posture and active muscle movement in the shoulders and neck.**

**The Crucible: A play written by Arthur Miller set during the Salem witch trials. It explores how greed and corruption can lead to irrationality and hysteria.**

**One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest: Written by Ken Kesey this novel is set in a psychiatric hospital ruled by Nurse Ratched. The inmates are all under her command until a new patient by the name of McMurphy enters. He encourages the other inmates to break the rules and challenge Nurse Ratched. It explores themes of conformity, power, gender and insanity.**

**Kafka's quote: This expert is a quote written by Franz Kafka to Oskar Pollak, a Czech art historian and friend of Kafka. The full quote translated from German is the following:**

"**I think we ought to read only the kind of books that wound and stab us. If the book we are reading doesn't wake us up with a blow on the head, what are we reading it for?** **...we need the books that affect us like a disaster, that grieve us deeply, like the death of someone we loved more than ourselves, like being banished into forests far from everyone, like a suicide.** **A book must be the axe for the frozen sea inside us."**


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15**

**Author's Note:**

**So, I wrote this chapter a few days ago. Originally it was connected to the next chapter but I decided to split it so that the 16****th**** chapter wouldn't be so long. Any the result is a short chapter followed by a decently long one. I hope you don't mind. ^_^**

The thwacking of a small rubber ball, the squeaking of sneakers on wooden floor and Kaneki's panting was all Morie could hear from behind Perspex. She stood watching as Kaneki and Tsukiyama took turns hitting the ball with their rackets in their game of squash. It was her current task to score this match then whoever won would be facing her and whoever lost would be scoring but she found that the bouncing of the ball much too fast for her eyes to fully follow. It also didn't help that she was only taught the rules mere minutes ago.

Kaneki was the only one who appeared to be struggling as he fumbled with the racket and sprinted far too much to try and reach an area where he could hit the ball. More often than not he would overshoot his swing and trip due to clumsy footwork. But he always got up quickly and tried again until he fell once again on his upper back huffing from exhaustion.

Tsukiyama looked down at him and smiled as the ball rolled on the floor. With a light laugh he said, "I see that sports aren't your forte."

Kaneki just looked up and grumbled.

Morie came in through the door and offered a hand to Kaneki. She tugged him up before looking at Tsukiyama. "I believe you won the match, Tsukiyama. My turn." She reached for Kaneki's racket and he handed it to her. "Go catch your breath," she instructed as he walked out of the court and behind the clear wall.

"You don't mind if I serve first do you?" Tsukiyama said as he walked behind Morie and picked up the ball.

Morie stepped into a marked serving square as she allowed him to take the first shot. He too stepped into the other square, rolled his shoulders once then threw the ball up into the air. With a flick of his wrists he brought his racket across to hit the ball. It slammed into the wall in front of him and rocked towards the centre of the court. Morie tense and ready sprinted towards the ball, readied her racket to hit the ball and swung with all her might only for it to miss the ball. Normally she would have hit the mark but the racket felt too long in her arms so her mind urged her to close the distance between herself and the ball resulting in the ball directly hitting her inner arm.

With a hiss of pain, she dropped the racket with a clatter then lifted it up for her to see. Before her eyes she saw the red circular mark turn a dark blue before shifting to a light yellow and then it was back to normal. She stared at it eyes slightly widened before she noticed Tsukiyama's shoes. Her arm was quickly snapped down. "I'm fine but I'll get you to serve again."

Tsukiyama bent down and grabbed the ball before walking back to his square and served once again the grin on his face growing ever wider.

The trio sat themselves down inside the café Tsukiyama had talked about a few days ago and they were currently waiting for their orders to be brought to them. The gourmet had suggested that they all have an iced coffee in order to cool and relax their bodies. To Morie the wording he used seemed odd after all the man had used similar words to explain why he dragged both of them to the squash court and apparently, it was to help loosen up their muscles.

Morie got up and started scanning the nearby bookshelves for something to read. Her fingers traced the spines and she would occasionally pull out a book to read the blurb.

"I told you, it's a perfect place for reading isn't it?" Tsukiyama proclaimed as Morie sat back down with 'The Woman in the Dunes'.

Kaneki couldn't help but agree as Morie turned to the first page.

A waiter came to the table and delivered the drinks along with a simple cheesecake Morie ordered off the menu. She picked up the fork, dug it into the dessert without looking away from the book and began to chew. Tsukiyama had to stop himself from choking on his drink as he watched her obliterate the cake. He put on a forced smile before getting her attention. "Do you not see the beauty you just destroyed?"

Morie looked up from the book. "Cake is cake. You destroy in order to eat."

Tsukiyama gasped. "_'Cake is cake'_ she says…! How utterly quaint of you to say that, plouc de merde." Morie could tell that she had just been insulted and rolled her eyes in response. The action only seemed to further Tsukiyama's frustration. "It is well known that the way in which food is presented plays an important role in how delicious the food is perceived to be. Colour, arrangement and even plating need to be considered," he exasperated, hands held out palms up and pain evident on his face.

"Things like that are unimportant to me as I cannot taste what I am eating. I eat for nutrients and energy right now and nothing else." Morie then took a sip of her iced coffee with no emotion clear on her face.

Tsukiyama was gripping his glass tighter and tighter with every word and his smile was quickly turning to a scowl. "You cannot taste yet surely texture must play a part in what you eat?"

After a moment of contemplation Morie responded. "I like konpeitou for a few reasons but one of them is because of how they crunch."

Hearing such words his face softened a little but his eyes were still glazed over. To try and snap himself out of his thought's Tsukiyama turned to Kaneki who was nervously shifting his attention between his companions. "Do tell me what you like to dine on Kaneki."

"Oh um." He fidgeted around in one of his pockets and pulled out a small drawstring bag. Opening it he pulled out what looked like a brown sugar cube. "I-I'm not really that good with food but Yoshimura made this for me… I can't live off these but it can make the hunger go away for a bit so I think something like this is good enough for me."

Morie's eyes shifted from the novel and to Kaneki as he placed the cube he was holding into his drink and began to stir it. "You need to consider other things."

Tsukiyama looked as still as a statue as his scowl returned along with his tight grip. "The two of you rely upon merely eating for the sake of eating; taking no pleasure in the way you do so. Such unrefined methods pain me." His eyes shifted to stare at Morie. "At least in Kamishiro's case she cared for her meals even if it was the equivalent of junk food."

The cup finally cracked. The coffee it held started flowing from the fractures over Tsukiyama's fingers and then dripped onto the table.

Kaneki was quick to react as he grabbed a nearby set of napkins and started laying them down in order to soak up the liquid. As he was mopping up the drink, he kept his head down. "Are you alright? I am sorry if we said something that displeased you."

Reaching for the broken cup in Tsukiyama's hands, Kaneki jolted back slightly as he looked at his index finger. A thin line of blood started to trickle from the tip. Morie saw everything. The gourmet had flicked out one of his fingers just as Kaneki was about to touch the cup and a nail had pierced his skin. She clenched her jaw.

Tsukiyama quickly placed the cup down on a set of napkins before swiftly pulling out a handkerchief. "You need not to apologise in the slightest." Morie watching the scene play out could tell that the statement wasn't directed at her. In fact, the man payed no heed to her as he leaned closer to Kaneki. "Use this to stop the blood," Tsukiyama said as he handed Kaneki the white handkerchief.

"It's going to get dirty though…" Kaneki mumbled even though blood had already started soaking into the cloth.

Morie took the final sip of her iced coffee before addressing Kaneki. "In a minute or so that should heal." She then waved over the waiter who escorted them to an empty table whilst they cleaned up the spilt coffee and fractured cup.

What Morie said was true. Within the minute the bleeding had entirely stopped and the cut had completely faded. Tsukiyama took the handkerchief off Kaneki stating that he would clean it in the bathroom as if the blood dried it would stain. He then excused himself. Once Tsukiyama was out of their sights Morie snapped the book shut.

"What you decide is up to you but this man is creeping on you," growled Morie as she looked at Kaneki with hardened eyes. "Whatever he is doing now is to lure you in. You are probably exotic to him."

"He's probably just being nice. He sounds European so maybe it's a cultural thing?"

Morie felt anger start to bubble up inside of her chest. "You are naïve. He made you bleed! A ceramic piece isn't what cut you. It was his nail."

"Accidents happen sometimes…" Kaneki said reassuringly as he held his chin in an effort to excuse the man's behaviour.

"That wasn't an accident." Morie's expression was becoming as hard as stone. "I don't know what you are aiming to do by getting this close to him but for your sake and Hide's sake I am dragging myself down with you."

"P-please don't!" he exasperated. "I don't want you…"

Kaneki trailed off as Tsukiyama walked back to the table calm and composed. His oxfords clicked with every step. "I do hope I didn't keep you waiting," Tsukiyama lamented as he sat down. "And after thinking about it I must be the one to apologise for my behaviour. You see although Kamishiro and I liked books we unfortunately didn't get along and I was just reminded of an ill memory of us fighting which put me in a sour mood."

Kaneki reassuringly smiled. "That's alright but I am glad you have calmed down." He then let out a nervous chuckle.

"Non. I feel like I must right a wrong." Tsukiyama placed his hands on the table as his eyes widened with joy. "How would you two like to taste exquisite food? There is an exclusive restaurant in which I am a member of but if you are introduced by me then they will let you in. You said you were not good with food, Kaneki. I can organise a chef to prepare a meal that is easy to eat. As for Masuda even if you can't taste anything the spectacle would surely engage you and if you are with me there is no need to be worried about the other patrons. We could go tonight."

Kaneki beamed and as Morie watched and listened praying that he would say no so when he said yes, she was ready to flip the table and storm off. Instead she inhaled and slowly exhaled to keep her composure. "Very well. I shall go to."

"Excellent!" Tsukiyama felt a shiver of excitement travel down his back as his closed mouth grin stretched. "Do excuse me. I need to make a call to reserve your seats." With a flick of his wrist Tsukiyama grabbed his phone and dialled. As he talked, he looked at Kaneki then at Morie analysing each of them. "Ah yes we will need clothing. A suit and cocktail dress would suit wonderfully." He then leant in and asked for sizes informing the two that the dress code was mandatory.

Tsukiyama welcomed to two of them with wide, open arms and a smile.

**Author's Note:**

**The Woman in the Dunes- A novel written by Kobo Abe and considered a Japanese classic. The Japnese name is Suna no Onna (****砂の女****) which literally translates to the woman of the sands. It tells the story of entomologist Junpei Niki who goes out looking for insects and misses the last bus home. He is taken to a village where they welcome him and house in in the bottom of a dune with a woman. When he wakes in the morning the rope ladder he used to get down has been taken away so he is trapped with the woman. Junpei discovers that the woman is forced to remove the sand that falls into the hole everyday or else she will be buried. There is more to the story than that but it is essentially a sisyphistic (Greek mythological figure rolling a boulder up a hill) narrative.**


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter 16**

Morie stood as still as a statue within the pristine shower as the hot water cascaded down her body. Upon arrival both she and Kaneki were taken aside and instructed to bathe themselves in different secluded shower rooms. Kaneki thought it strange but agreed anyway whilst Morie at first refused until Kaneki told her it would be fine. She wanted to sock him.

The soaps and shampoo on the shower shelf we all some fancy brand Morie hadn't heard of nor cared about. She grabbed a bottle and vented some of her anger by squeezing it so tightly that the pearlescent substance splattered onto her hands then dripped to the tiled floor. With what remained in her hands, she used it to clean herself.

A sapphire dress was hung on a hook by the door and it was paired with a set of heels that were neatly place below it. After drying herself off with the fluffy towel provided, she ran a hand across the fold of fabric that acted as the single sleeve and felt the weave of the material. It was heavy and dense. As for the shoes Morie looked at them with disgust. She had only every worn heels a few centimetres tall for the fancy events the CCG rarely held but before her were stilettoes. Made from a black fabric that felt like peach fuzz and with two straps, one with a buckle, Morie could only think that they were shackles.

She wore everything anyway.

Upon stepping out of the room a ghoul wearing a simple maid outfit greeted her with a bow. Like every other staff member Morie saw this woman was wearing a mask that was a smooth white and looked like a doll's face with all the factory paint removed. "I shall take your belonging for storage now." The maid held her hands out for the tray Morie carried which had her clothes thrown inside.

Morie gave the maid the tray without a second thought. Before heading out of the bathroom she looked herself over in the mirror and eyed the gap created between the fabric and her chest. It was thin like the gap between breast and bra; thin enough to slide her scalpel between. Handing over the tray was no longer an issue for her.

The maid directed Morie towards a door and opened it for her. Clumsily, Morie stepped inside and before she could look back, the door was swiftly closed. Although the room was large there still was an effort to make it look cosy. A set of cushioned chairs on a Persian rug and coffee table were the main centrepiece. Other knickknacks like a potted plant and paintings helped give it a more homely feel. Yet as her eyes scanned the room, she saw no windows nor air vents which made her bite her inner lip in frustration.

Morie was greeted with a hello from a man wearing a suit whose nose was a tad too large for his face.

Hearing this Kaneki peaked his head around from one of the chairs. "You're here, Morie."

Taking a step forward and nearly tripping Morie eventually managed to awkwardly make her way to Kaneki. Before saying anything to the boy she looked around only to find a fourth member with her head to the side and arms crossed.

"Who are you?" she asked bluntly addressing everyone but Kaneki.

The other woman just turned her head away more and crossed her fat legs. On the other hand, the man who first greeted her stepped with a smile. "Quite a fetching miss! Kobachi from the Shouei company's magazine ''Tokyo Gourmet''. I have been invited to write an editorial on tonight's meal." He held out a business card which Morie plucked from his hands and stuffed into the top of her dress.

After the interaction she turned back to Kaneki, leaned close to him and hissed into his ear. "Congratulations. We are tonight's main course."

His eyes widened as he gulped. "W-what do you mean by that?"

Morie put a finger to her lips. "Quiet. Don't alert anyone. Don't do anything that may compromise your health. I intend to get us out alive somehow. Keep an eye out for a vent or window or anything that can be used as an exit."

The CCG had always talked about such places where ghoul's fed live humans to the patrons of these restaurants and due to the sheer number and different factions they often became targets of raids. Investigations were always conducted on trying to find them so that information made it to her ears occasionally.

There was a knock by the door as the same maid that assisted Morie came in wheeling a cart covered by a pristine white cloth. Placed upon it was a silver teapot, four china cups and a plate of neatly arranged biscuits. The cart was stationed by the coffee tables and chairs. Apparently, the offerings were a pre-dinner snack to enjoy whilst the main dining room was being prepared.

With a cheerful smile and energetic movement Kobachi picked up a checkerboard biscuit and took a bite. After chewing a few times, he declared that they were a tad dried out and weak tasting. He still ate a few more along with his cup of coffee.

The other woman held her head high even though she was short. Thinking herself to be mighty she pushed her body past Kaneki who was carefully reaching out to pour himself a drink. She then returned to her seat and crossed her legs again before daintily picking up with cup with a pinkie held out.

As she pushed past with her cup Kaneki could smell a strange substance that originated from the liquid and decided that he wouldn't have a cup. Curiosity came to him so once he returned to his chair, he looked up at Morie who stood beside him. "Can you smell that too?" he asked her in a hushed voice.

Morie nodded. "I can."

Kobachi placed his cup down before grabbing the two clean ones and the pot. "Are you two going to have any? I will pour some for you if you do."

Kaneki nervously turned his head towards the man. "Um… No thank you. Err you see…"

"We already had afternoon tea today so we are waiting for the main course," Morie stated in a level voice. "Coffee and cookies would just fill us up."

"Ah, a wise choice I see," said Kobachi.

Fifteen minutes passed before the door was opened again. This time instead of the maid it was a masked butler who escorted everyone out of the room and after walking down a long hallway, they were directed into another room. The whole time whilst walking and looking for an exit Morie had to hold her hand up against the wall in order to steady herself due to the shoes she was wearing. The room itself made Morie stand on edge. There was nothing inside the large room but a circular table with four chairs and a teppan angled in such a way that anyone who sat down would be able to watch the cooking show.

The butler bowed before taking his leave and closed the door behind him.

Every cell in Morie's body screamed at her to stay away from the table and teppan so she hovered closely to the door unlike Kobachi who eagerly strode to the table and pulled out one of the chairs to sit on. "I wonder what we'll have. Steak? Seafood? I can't wait!"

Morie was about to grab Kaneki's wrist but he had already started moving over to the man with a smile as the overweight woman tugged at the door. "It's locked!" she gasped and growled before attempting to kick it open.

Morie observed the woman's actions with her arms still crossed. She looked at the woman with a scowl. "What do you expect? This is a-"

Before Morie could finish talking a loud black speaker sounded. "Apologies for the wait. Dinner preparations have been finalised."

Kobachi cheered as with a clang the ceiling above them receded. Bright spotlights were cast down on them as the snooty chattering of the crowd leering above them met their ears. All the nobles were wearing a variety of masquerade masks and held wine glasses brimming with fermented blood. They raise their glasses as the ceiling fully retracted.

Morie could feel herself shrinking from the magnitude of the spectacle. Thinking she had more time to comprehend the situation, Morie felt her plans shatter as the noble talk berated her.

The announcement continued. "Tonight, you shall feast on these four! The man at the table is an editor of a gourmet magazine." Kobachi started shivering. "He never fails to go to the gym even if he is busy so his perfectly primed body shall have a chewy texture excellent for what we have lined up for you. The intermediary is Mr TR." A man with a crying mask stood up and bowed as he was met with a round of applause.  
"In contrast to the previous course we have the portly lady on the right. Her meat shall be soft but since she refused to take a shower her body is covered in excessive oils. These oils will be removed before serving so please relax. The intermediary is Mr PG."

After being frozen still out of shock the woman ran to the centre and shouted up at the balconies. Tears of shock streamed down her face along with snot and sweat. Pointing up to the ghoul who was waving and wearing a clown mask she yelled, "Souta! YOU LIED TO ME! What about your promise to marry me!? Today was supposed to be that day."

The clown just put an elbow on the railing and propped his chin on his hand. "Such lofty ambitions, my dear Ami." He sighed as he moved his hand to fiddle with his checkerboard collar then laughed. It was light hearted yet cruel, soft yet loud and he held each chuckle for a tad too long. "I honestly can't see a boar as an object of romantic interest so I could never love you~"

The overweight woman's eyes bulged as her finger shook. All she was doing was screeching out of desperation and the clown continued to laugh. He leered down at her and the angle made the fake, red lips of his mask look all too wide. "The pig is oinking. How delightful. I want everyone to have a tasty bite of her oily fat!"

The woman wouldn't stop screaming. It drew the audience's attention so Morie took the moment to try and move as indiscreetly as possible even though the arena was mostly bare and the lights were focused down on them. As she took a step towards Kaneki her foot slipped. The shape of her shoe and the slip forced her right foot to bend at an unnatural angle and as she cried out in pain, her body tumbled to the ground. Kaneki rushed closer to her.

All eyes were now on Morie.

The announcer continued his spiel. "I am afraid that the show for this woman will be dull due to unforeseen events nonetheless the fallen woman is Morie Masuda; an unexpected side dish to the main course. The intermediary is Mr MM."

With that a ghoul stood up from a private balcony. Half his face was covered by a crescent moon and the applause that greeted him was greater than the other intermediaries. "If I may say a few words." He gestured out to the crowd then used his arms to direct their attention to Morie. Through her pain, she glared up at the man whom she recognised as Tsukiyama. "Ladies and gentlemen, I urge you to watch this lady for she is rather peculiar."

Eagerly waiting the audience leaned closer to the railings from their chairs and paid attention to the woman in the blue dress. The area round her right ankle bulged out and was turning purple. As Morie grit her teeth she reached into the top of her dress and pulled out the scalpel. Fed up with the shoes she bent down closer to the shoes, stuck the blade between the straps and pulled up. The blade cut through the bands and freed her feet from their confinements. There were gasps and "Ooo"s from the crowd as they watched her actions. Some questioned where she got the weapon from but they were swiftly drowned out by the ghouls around them.

The show wasn't over for them though as the purple around her ankle faded. The foot then twisted back to normal before their very eyes. Feeling the pain vanish she tested putting weight on the foot but Kaneki insisted against it. Morie ignored him as she leapt to her feet, picked up a stiletto and threw it at Tsukiyama. He easily dodged by tilting his head to one side. The noise from the audience escalated as a roaring laughter was added to the jeering.

Morie knew her face was getting redder by the second from the rage and humiliation she was feeling. It built up inside of her until she exploded. "THIS IS A PERFORMACE FOR YOU ASSHOLES! You stand up there high and mighty looking down on the people you think are livestock but in reality, you live in fear! The CCG will have you all screaming and running if they turned up here so enjoy your pathetic existence whilst you can," Morie huffed as she caught her breath from the outburst.

Tsukiyama took Morie's silent stance as an opening. "You can see for a human, she has remarkably fast healing capabilities. It shall surely make for a grand dismemberment," Tsukiyama said before gesturing back to the announcer. He remained standing.

With an "ahem" from the announcer he began to introduce the next menu item. "The final dish of the day has quite a meat for it is that of a ghoul." The crowd started to whisper amongst themselves. "Like the previous item the intermediary is Mr MM."

Tsukiyama once again addressed the crowd as the hushes died down. "I assure you it is not unreasonable for one to feel bewildered by the mere thought of eating a ghoul for the meat is coarse and flavourless. Every guest here is an epicure so I am sure you will be able to appreciate this. The thing I noticed about this man was his 'scent'" With a flick of his wrist the handkerchief from the café was held high, a red splotch visible on it. With another flick he tossed it into the crowd. Catching the smell of blood, the ghouls rushed to grab the cloth each taking a turn to sniff it before the next person yanked it out of their hands. The cycle repeated as Tsukiyama kept talking. "Although he has the body of a ghoul, he gives off the distinct scent of a human.  
My fellow companions are you interested now!? Imagine what taste sensation a ghoul who has the scent of a human shall bring to the table. An unknown taste will stimulate your senses, excite your mind and immerse you into a whole new world! Both of my offerings have been prepared through exercise and coffee so their meat will fall apart easily and supply us with a fragrant flavour." He held his arms up and took a bow. "NOW, ENJOY YOUR GOURMET MEAL!"

Applause erupted.

A clang followed by a rumbled alerted the four in the arena to a metal shutter located at the far end of the area. As it opened the ground continued to shake and a human blob of fat and muscle came into view. A mask made of leather was draped and buckled so the face was hardly visible apart from the crocked nose and misaligned ears. Hanging from the waist was a pouch containing blades such as scissors and knives and in addition to that a saw was clutched in gloved hands. In a low voice the creature slurred, "Nisch to meet choo." It was introduced as tonight's 'scrapper'.

As it stepped closer to the table everyone but Morie was frozen stiff.

In disbelief Kobachi started laughing and clapping. "An event restaurant! What a surprise. Exquisite food and the excitement of being shocked."

"Get away!" Morie ordered as she grabbed Kaneki by the wrist and pulled him away from Kobachi.

Her voice was lost on the reviewer as he was yanked upwards with both of the scrapper's hands. A hand at Kobachi's shoulder and a hand at Kobachi's hip the scrapper began to pull and pull as the man started screeching in pain. He was then slammed to the ground where his left arm was tugged up. His screaming got louder and louder as the saw was brought down. The sick sound of blunt teeth tearing away on flesh and the humming of the blob echoed around the arena. The sound then mixed in with the shouts from the crowd as the dismantled limbs were thrown their way. It ended when Kobachi's head was tossed leaving lines of splattered blood on the floor and walls.

Morie was scowling as she forcefully escorted Kaneki away from the scrapper. From the looks of it Morie couldn't see anything that could be used as an effective long-range weapon on the scrapper so she figured keeping her distance was the best option for survival.

Kaneki had other plans though and twisted out of her grip. He ran up to the woman who was still frozen stiff as Morie shouted at him to come back. He skidded to a holt in front of Ami and brought himself into a fighting stance. Kaneki keeping his eyes on the scrapper who was stepping closer with every second spoke to the woman. "P-please stay behind me."

Morie was running back to retrieve Kaneki but her face twisted in disgust at she saw Ami kick Kaneki to the ground. Out of panic she threw her scalpel at the scrapper in an effort to stall for time so she could get Kaneki out of there. The blade imbedded itself in the side of the scrapper's cheek but it proved to be ineffective due to the cheek being layered with cushioning fat. All the it did was make the scrapper say "Ow, that wasn't very nisch." With meaty fingers it pulled out the scalpel and threw it to the floor.

Ami was laughing at Kaneki and calling him a decoy before she took off sprinting.

As Morie whispered "bitch" under her breath the audience picked up their laughter and started to jeer at the fat woman whose behaviour was so trashy. It was like reality TV for them.

Although Kaneki was on the ground the scrapper walked past the boy and started running after the woman with his arms outstretched. The scrapper laughed as it chased her. They ran laps around the centre of the arena leaving Morie and Kaneki alone. Kaneki picked himself up using Morie's hand which she held up and once he was standing on his two feet Morie rushed to retrieve the scalpel.

As the scrapper and Ami ran a woman stood up. "Run Taro-chan~! Run for momma~"

It made the scrapper run faster but it still couldn't keep up with the fat woman that was until Ami collapsed to the ground. Her legs felt numb and she clawed at the ground unable to get up again. She wiggled across the ground like some kind of worm.

"Look's like the poison has started taking effect," informed the announcer. "Rest assured that her stomach will be cleaned out before consumption."

Kaneki and Morie looked at each other both now realising what the strange smell they smelt when the coffee was served.

Taro caught up with Ami, picked up her body which was going limp then threw her down face first onto the teppan. All the sweat that coated the woman sizzled before evaporating. Meanwhile her skin was searing. Ami's flailing limbs slowed down as her body was cooked to death.

Most of the crowd held a hand to their mouths as they grimaced not due to the method of murder but because the scrapper wasn't following instructions.

Kaneki looked like he was about to be sick and was once again frozen to the spot. It was only when Morie shouted at him to get down did his knees buckle. Whooshing above his head Taro's saw was swung.

The woman who cheered the scrapper cried out again but this time it was in anger. "The other one! The other one first!"

Taro looked up. "Yes momma."

Hearing this Morie gulped and began to move around the scrapper. Taro's movements were slow and clunky and she knew this. Once behind its back she bent down low and pointed the scalpel. With a slash she cut through the skin of Taro's right ankle. She growled when the cut wasn't deep enough to slice away at the Achilles tendon. Whatever happened to the person Taro once was made its skin thick.

"Owwie…" Taro said as he sluggishly turned around to face Morie.

Morie was about to jump back but the scrapper's meaty hands grabbed her waist and she was flung into the air. A scream escaped her mouth as her eyes widened in fright. A leg was caught and her body crashed to the ground. Air escaped her lungs as she was winded and Morie started gasping for air as weight was pressed against her back. Like Kobachi before her, an arm was yanked up and the teeth of the saw ground against her muscles. Her cries of pain escalated.

Kaneki not fully knowing what to do took a running start before kicking Taro in the thigh with all his might. The attack did nothing as the scrapper kept moving its arm back and forth. Running out of options Kaneki then tried to grab the sawing arm and pulled it towards himself. Taken aback by the force, Taro's arm straightened and his wrist was twisted up to the ceiling. The scrapper lifted his arm, picking up Kaneki with him as Morie's arm was dropped leaving her panting. Kaneki swung a leg up into Taro's elbow and with a sickening crack, the scrapper's elbow was broken and dislocated. It fell back howling in pain.

Morie's legs were pinned down by the weight of its body. She struggled to try and pull herself out but it just resulted in her frantically waving her arms out. Kaneki raced to her side and grabbed the arm that wasn't injured and started to try and tug her out.

As the so called ''mother'' of the scrapper cried out Tsukiyama started cheering. "Amazing! Knowledge from the books you read and the application is truly magnifique!"

He snapped his fingers and a butler handed Tsukiyama a silver suitcase. With the click of a button the case opened and a new, larger saw with a purple blade was tossed downwards. It embedded itself into the concrete floor near Taro. The ghouls watching began muttering to themselves as the quinque glistened.

"Such a tool will greatly help this scrapper in the dismemberment ahead," explained Tsukiyama.

Kaneki was still trying to free Morie but with every second passing his body felt weaker and weaker until his legs gave out. Morie's face fell as she saw this and tried her best to reach out for him.

"As expected of the illustrious Mr MM the plans to emit a gas as a special precaution was indeed a wise choice. Although slow acting, those who did not drink the coffee will now start to find their movements futile," the announcer informed.

Hearing this Morie's breathing started to quicken once again and soon she began hyperventilating. Her eyes were closed tight but she opened them again quickly revealing her kakugan. Kaneki in front of her was struggling to reach out to her with a shaking arm. With a cry of anger and panic she felt her pressure building in her lower back. Bursting out from the confinements of her dress a tendril of black started flicking from side to side wildly. The crowd gasped and whispered amongst themselves but it soon turned to haughty laughter once the tendril was flicked wickedly and too fast to a side. The shiny, jagged surface broken into a shower of crimson dust that showered both Morie and Taro.

Tsukiyama leaned forward in interest, his eyes widening with surprise as his grin widened. Two ghouls who smelt of human and one of them had spice he could add to his meals.

Taro groaned, came to his senses and managed to flip his body over. Now standing it fumbled towards the quinque as Morie rushed to Kaneki, her mid back spewing the red powder that was gradually forming back into the black tendril. She bent down towards Kaneki and lifted him onto her back with a grunt just as the saw was swung above her head. Kaneki in a burst of energy wriggled himself free and in the process pushed Morie down to the ground once more. The move made both of them avoid being sliced in half.

Kaneki's body at this point was starting to fight off the poison. He scrambled to his feet as another blow was aimed his way. The blade imbedded itself into the ground where Kaneki once was. As Taro was struggling to pull the weapon free Kaneki ran up to his side and with a leap, he sent his clutched hands into the back of the scrapper's neck.

It howled in pain as it yanked the weapon and took a swing at Morie who was running up closer to it. Morie's kagune had taken its shape again and she twisted it so it could land a hit on the behemoth. Although not well aimed it still made contact with the side of Taro's torso, slicing it open before it crumbled into powder again.

The scrapper continued its wobbling attacks but as it started to sway from side to side blood started trickling from the gaps in its leather mask. Morie and Kaneki watched in interest but the two charged in for one more attack. With a shout of excursion, the two threw uppercuts which sent Taro back down to the ground. There was a cough as more blood spluttered from the scrapper's mask. It remained motionless as Kaneki and Morie panted in the centre of the area. Both of their eyes shone with kakugan eyes.

The crowd grew wild upon seeing Kaneki's eyes.

"A one-eyed?" someone gasped before being joined in by more ghouls. The chatter echoed all around the pair in the area as they tried to recover from their fight.

"SEND IN ANOTHER SCRAPPER!" another person shouted as he gazed towards the ''mother'' of the previous scrapper.

"KILL THEM!" Another look.

"TEAR THEM TO SHREDS!"

"WE WANT TO FEAST!"

The tapping of a microphone followed by interference silenced the crowd. The crowd looked towards Tsukiyama as he gracefully jumped into the arena with perfect form. He raised a hand and pointed it toward the scrapper's corpse. "I apologise. It seems that I have caused quite a commotion… I assure you that it was never my intention to endan-"

Tsukiyama had to leap out of the way of the incoming attack coming from Morie. Her kagune had reformed and she took the opportunity to try and strike Tsukiyama down where he stood. The rinkaku crumbled once again as it chipped away at the concrete floor.

The Gourmet gasped at her uncivilised attack. "My how vulgar. Can't you remain still when one is talking?"

Morie said nothing but she continued to glare at Tsukiyama, watching his every more.

He cleared his throat to continue. "As I was saying, it was never my intention to endanger a living legend amongst our kind. I shall take full responsibility for this error." He gave a deep bow before once again pointing a hand towards Taro's body. "That being said, our dinner shan't be ruined. I propose we dine of Madam A's scrapper."

The crowd began chattering again.

Tsukiyama turned his head towards the ''mother'' of Taro. "I shall provide you a new pet to your liking as an apology for this unfortunate miscalculation. How about a handsome man from Europe or an elite from Arabia?"

After a few seconds of thinking the woman he was addressing shouted her agreement to proposal.

With a snap of his fingers the door leading out of the arena creaked open. Tsukiyama changed his attention to Morie and Kaneki as he stepped forward towards the two. In a quiet voice he said to the pair, "I had intended this to be but a petty joke. I understand it might be a bit difficult to do but could you find it in your hearts to forgive me?"

Morie picked up her scalpel from the floor and brushed past Tsukiyama's form. "Not on your life," she growled to him as she marched towards the door with Kaneki wearily following.

A few days later when a cleverly crafted CCG raid squad burst into the restaurant and gazed around the balconies. Littered between tables and chairs were bodies of nobles with dried blood clinging to their faces that had trickled from their noses and mouths. Upon autopsy it was revealed that their own bodies attacked their organs leading to organ failure and internal bleeding. Within all of their stomachs was the flesh of Taro the scrapper along with traces of a red powder.


End file.
